Surrounded

It seems like I am surrounded by death. Not even thinking about the celebrities who have passed away in the last week or so, it just seems to be everywhere. One of my good friends from high school, Lindsay Murphy lost her little girl yesterday just 1 hour after birth from complications. She never breathed on her own. (You can read her story on forsydney.net)

Then today a sweet girl, just 18 years old, drowned with her 18 month old daughter in a neighborhood pool. Tiffany Sykes Cecconi and her daughter Laylani were such sweet girls. Tiffany grew up at our church and was in the Middle School youth group during Dan's first year as youth pastor. She accepted Christ at her 8th grade camp and grew a lot in that year. She fell in with the wrong friends and fell away from the Lord in high school. She ended up 16 and pregnant. She kept her little girl, though others tried to talk her into putting her up for adoption. Tiffany was a GREAT mother. She took care of that little girl and loved that little girl like no one else. In the last year or so she was starting to turn hr life around. She was coming back to church and repairing broken relationships with her family.

I know God has a plan and a purpose with everything, but sometimes you can't help but wonder, "Why!" I know Tiffany (at least as much as another person can know) and those 2 little girls are with Jesus. If these 2 families pass through your thoughts, please say a prayer for them Dan will be doing part of the service for Tiffany and Kaylani so keep him in your prayers as well.

Hold those little ones a little tighter tonight and tell the people closest to you how you feel. You never know if it will be the last time you have the opportunity.