Sabrina's memorial

Some time ago Karen and I asked prayer for Sabrina, our great niece, who was discovered to have a very fast growing cancer and was not expected to last long. She did pass away last week. She was eight years old. Needless to say, this was very hard on our family.

Today was her memorial. As all memorials are, it was good and it was bad. Emotionally it was very hard. On the otherhand, the memorial was a concise summery of all that Sabrina meant to our famaily. Like a parent living day in and day out with a child, it's easy to not appreciate the fact that your child will one day grow up and leave you. But later, while thumbing through the family photo albums you watch as your child grows before your eyes. Then you almost always reflect, thinking, 'I wish I would have better savored that moment'.

Let's be very careful that we not allow ourselves to miss the time we have left together. God has worked a miracle in our lives, to allow us to be together, even through all the various issues we have individually gone through. Let's not waste a moment on bitterness or unforgiveness. Let's be compassionate to one another, for God knows most of us have reasons we are the way we are. And consider this, as you well know, I am not perfect, I need to practice what I preach; but if I fail you, at least acknowledge what I am telling you is strait from the heart of God. So don't let anyone else's failure stop you from doing what is right.
Peter Sr.