May 2017 - Third Anniversary Story from a Dad

Well here we are on the third Anniversary of Eriks death. This morning the sun is shining bright and a brisk cool breeze is making it easier to breathe on a day that took Our breathe away three years ago. Yesterday my Pastor David Cassidy quoted some lyrics, "In the rustling grass, I hear him pass, this is my Fathers World". So when I stepped outside for the first time, I immediately thought of that and was reminded of his unfaltering love and presence. It is not easy to accept what Gods plan was for us when he healed Erik. We have had a lot of hardship and pain in our life but we continue to look ahead and continue to walk on thru this very hard lesson. It has changed me in many ways and I look at the struggle completely different.

When Cindy and I went to bed last night we just laid there looking into each others eyes. We have known each other so long we didn't have to use words. I chose to use words and asked her what she missed about him the most. I didn't take but a couple of seconds and she replied " Everything ". A Mothers love has no boundaries and it saturates every fiber of her being. As I woke her this morning I stood there looking at her face and remember that same face lying in a hospital bed holding her newborn son. As I see the lines and wrinkles on her face now, I see them as medals of honor. She worked and fought for her entire family and earned every one. I told her that because of her and what she has learned in the past 25 yrs. has been vital in getting us thru all of this. It's been a hard season because we have started sharing a very painful part of Eriks story, not because we want to, but because we need to. There has got to be some pushback against evil and I guess we are the ones to do it. Pray for our safety as we stir up the hornets nest. Like Cindy has said, the first year we were in shock, the second year we grieved and the third year we are looking ahead to the future.

Tonight we gather with a select group of our Tennessee family as a way for us to say Thank you for loving us so well and being faithful to us. The day Erik died changed my life in so many ways and one of them was to see the hearts of so many people living out their love for us in such a humble manner. From standing in a room with us, as the warmth faded from our sons body, to cleaning Eriks cabin so we didn't have to remember it like he left it, to making copies of his art and treating his originals as if they were Rembrandts.

We could not have survived this devastation with out you. Your love put into action has changed me personally forever. So today I remember with a thankful heart. I want to believe that on that morning Jesus was standing with his arm around Erik and said," see how my children are taking care of your parents, don't worry, they're going to be fine. Now let me show you the place".