Remembering

This is a tough week for us.  Thursday marks 6 years since our precious daughter came into our lives, and Saturday marks 6 years ago that she died.

Springtime is always tough.  Seeing the cherry trees blossoming and flowers coming alive is a bittersweet memory. While the color peeping through the ground reminds us of life, it also reminds me of death.  Hard to believe it has been 6 years, and how well I remember it all, like it was yesterday.

Driving home from the hospital, trying to think through the haze of pain, medications and grief, we stopped at a stop-sign.  I looked past Steve, and there on the corner was a magnificent cherry tree, in full bloom.  The delicate pink flowers swayed in the breeze, so close we could almost reach out and touch them.  Is God rubbing my loss in my face? I thought bitterly.  Everywhere around me there was new life, and we headed home to plan our daughter's funeral.  How completely ironic it all was.

And yet, like the little crocuses that are here for such a short time, so was her life.  So short, so insignificant to so many people.  But to us, she was a reminder of God's beauty, grace and love. She was small but beautiful.

So if you can, think of us this week, as we remember her and remember all that God has done through her short life.