Most difficult day...

Most difficult day...
There is a chain that hangs around my neck with a cross at the end of it that I’ve worn since last Christmas. It was a gift from my oldest younger brother, Daniel, as our family met for one last holiday before Daniel spent 18 months in Iraq—not knowing if we would get the chance to see him again before he left May 2005. We all cried as we laid hands on him, dedicating his life thru service to the Lord and to the utmost of His glory. What a difficult day.

Mid March I had the opportunity to leave one Saturday afternoon to Fort Stewart, Georgia, to visit with Daniel until the next afternoon when I had to head back home (a 7 hour trip one way). The trip was fast and our time was short, but it was sweet and good. I didn’t know if I would see him again before he left so we said good-bye again as if it would be the last time we got to speak to each other face to face. What a difficult day.

Last weekend Daniel got an 11 day leave after training in California and before he was to fly out so he came up to Virginia to spend 5 days with the family. We spent time around the dinner table, all of us but my eldest sister Anna, held back by work. Mom, Dad, the boys and me, reminiscing about days past and their highlights. We all went to a local theme park one day, at Kings Dominion, and rode everything we could…even my parents which was weird! But great! (For those still in disbelief, I have pictures!!!) Mother’s Day we went to my parent’s church, had lunch at a restaurant afterwards, then said our good-byes in the parking lot. Pictures were taken of our family that I will forever cherish. Daniel and I are very close, and after he said bye to my family, hugging each one, and they left for home. We had the chance to look each other once more in the face and tell each other that we loved each other very much, and reminded each other of how much we mean in the other’s life. Tears again accompanied the thought that this might be his face in time that I remember for the rest of my life because I might not ever again have the chance to see him smile. God will do what He may, and thru it all He carries us thru, difficult or triumphant. What a difficult day.

Today Daniel left for Iraq. He just called me to tell me that he’d just gotten off the phone with mom, dad and the boys, and that saying good-bye shouldn’t be this hard. We shared sweet words of encouragement and love, both beginning to cry in the midst of our sentences, thanking God for the blessing of the life of each other. I told him he’s my hero: something he’s said of me for years. (I sit crying deeply, not even knowing what to say) “How much pain can you feel for love?” asks Daniel. http://www.spcellyson.blog.com This was the most difficult day.