Lost

Today the search for Marquis was called off. His family has received information which has led them to believe and accept that he has passed away. Which is very, very sad.
I knew Marquis in high school. We didn't keep in touch over the years, but I remember him as a good friend and a great guy, and somebody that everyone looked up to. Even as a teenager he was someone who inspired others and was the kind of example I wish more high school boys would follow.
Tragedy is always taken personally, because even if it's in a small way, the lives of those we have met and known touch our own and are part of us. It's shocking to have something so frightening and horrible hit so close, and so I am shocked, and frightened, and horrified.
It also impacts us when these things happen, as they so often do, to people we have known who were such an asset to the world. It seems so unjust. Marquis was certainly such a person in my memory, and it insults my sense of fairness that such a positive life with so much potential would be cut so short.
Most of all though, at least for me, this kind of news is hard because it is impossible not to empathize with those who are left to grieve the most. Because if I am shocked, and horrified, and sad, then I can't bear to imagine what must be happening in the hearts of his parents, wife, and daughter right now. And because I think none of us can help but imagine in some small way....what if it was me? Or mine? The answer to that is always bone chilling.
Tonight I'm saying many prayers for Coops family. Especially for his wife and his little girl, who is only three. I'm still saying them for Marquis, too. I think we take tragedy personally because it helps us to be there for those who need supporting.
But it also helps us see the precious in our own lives, and give those things the value they merit more clearly. Tonight I am giving Little One an extra cuddle before bed. And I'm spending extra time on my knees being thankful that even though J is gone right now, he's coming back. Taking extra time to realize how huge and how much of a blessing that is. And I'm going to think about you, too, and how fortunate I am to have you.
And I'm going to be thankful that, in a small way, for a time, I had an honor that too many people will now miss out on. Which was getting to know Coop.