...who have a lost a child or a brother or a sister at an all-too-young age...I just guess I'm more aware of how often it happens now...Just the weekend of the Ole Miss-Memphis State football game, the 17-year-old son of a guy I have met and gotten to know from the tent behind mine in Oxford was killed in an accident on the way back to his Dad's house from having supper at his Mom's house...To those who have lost a parent or grandparent, heck, even a beloved pet, going through the grieving process is NOT the same for everyone...but I do believe everyone does have a common goal -- acceptance of the loss and to keep moving forward...

Yes, my heart still aches for my firstborn son...The ache has dulled some with time, but I don't believe it will ever completely go away...When adversity strikes, I believe our human nature is to curl up in a ball and wish the world go away...I don't think it's wrong to ask "why?" -- and have done so many times over these past four years... 

For those of you who may not believe in God, feel free to stop here and just know that kind words and thoughtful gestures meant (mean) so much to us (them) and brought us (bring them) comfort...Just being there when we (they) needed (need) y'all and knowing y'all cared (care) meant (means) and still means more to us (them) than y'all will ever know..."THANK YOU"!!! We (they) will never be able to repay you...But I feel I need to say this...

I don't claim to be a pastor or pass myself off as a Bible scholar or even someone who knows all the biblical facts from Genesis to Revelation...I'm just a guy whose life was changed by it...Following the accident and the "Celebration of Life" for Mason, Sam Clayton and Walker, we wanted rest and peace more than anything -- we were "weary." God provided it in ways we never expected and in some ways we didn't even realize until a long time after...(Again, "THANK YOU"!!!)

For believers, praise God that He is close to those who are suffering! He knows the pain we're going through and He keeps us from being consumed by it...Through His love and compassion, He saved me from being crushed by the weight of the burden I carried, and He can do it for you, too! The Bible teaches us that although we ARE suffering now, it is nothing compared to the glory we will have in heaven...Our lives here on Earth are a blink in time compared to eternity. Christ took ALL our sin at the cross so we might spend eternity with Him (and for us, Mason, Sam Clayton and Walker -- and for you, your loved ones) and He will wipe away every tear from our eyes...

I honestly believe the lives of Mason, Sam Clayton and Walker had purpose, and whatever that purpose was, they fulfilled it in the 18 and 19 years they were here with us...We don't understand all of it and, honestly, I don't believe we have the capacity to...But I do take comfort knowing that one day, God will hold me close and explain it to me in a way even an Ole Miss fan like myself can understand...

God's Word sustained me through the darkest times of my grief, and continues to on a daily basis...Claim the promises the Bible gives us! There is NOTHING our God cannot do, including healing the hurt and pain my (your) heart is going through...God CAN AND WILL strengthen you (me) through your (my) grief and heartache...But it's a choice -- a conscious decision you have to make...You have to acknowledge that you need help getting through it, and God is the only answer...Remember that His love for us is so great -- greater than that we have even for our own children (child, sibling, parent, grandparent), that He will comfort you (me) and give you (me) strength to get through the day...

When we log off this awesome website, each one of us here will have less time to live than when we first logged on here...that's how precious time is -- that's how precious life is...Maybe you can afford to wait...Maybe for you and I there is a tomorrow...Maybe for you and I there are a thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or 10 thousand -- so much time we can bathe in it, roll around in it, let it slip like sand through our fingers...So much time we can waste it...But for some of us there is only today...I hate to say it so bluntly, but I've learned it and am living it...And the reality is -- the TRUTH is -- we never really know...

So, say the things you need to say...Hug the people you need to hug...Do the things you need to do -- in matters of faith, in matters of relationships...in matters of the things that really matter...Be the person you need to be--who God created you to be--to receive all that He has for you...For your worst moments, He gave His very best...