Uncle Frenchy

We had to say goodbye again today. My uncle lost his battle to lung cancer; today his family laid him to rest.

He was very well loved, and many, many friends and family turned out to honor him and love and support his family. I remember staying with my cousin in the summertime as a younger gal, and how welcome he always made me feel. Like my dad was of me and my brother, he was demanding of excellence in his kids, and their biggest supporter, and their biggest fan. They made him so proud, I know.

Well, I have hope that it wasn't necessarily goodbye, more of a 'see you later.' But we miss him here, and the loneliness is painful. I feel for my cousins, losing their dad, and I didn't want to have to see anyone else go through losing their dad, let alone at so young an age.

So we cling to hope, and move on the best we can. My aunt and my cousins are in my prayers. I was always so grateful for the love and support and prayers of all my loved ones when my dad passed away, and I know that's what carries us through. Another encouragement I have is that Jesus doesn't require us to endure anything that He wasn't willing to endure, and even experienced grief at the death of His dear friend Lazarus. There's a promise in there, too: just like Lazarus, there will come a day when our loved ones are raised up again, and we'll all be together again, with Jesus. Now that's something to look forward to!

This photo is sort of unrelated, but I like it so I'm putting it in tonight. Next time there are fireworks, Frenchy gets to see them from above.