so soon

taken so soon by the actions of troubled souls, my friend chamberlain in a car collision driving home to his wife and 3 children, struck at an intersection by a reckless driver; and the 20 sweet, innocent babes whose parents dropped them off at school that same morning, to learn and grow, their lives cut so short. i hope any fear that was had was brief and met with peace and homecoming.

i will continue to question how our good god could call these people home at what seems too soon of a time because as humans with little faith that is what we do, we question. but i will rest in my faith that although he may not answer my questions, our god is by my side in this time of grief but most importantly, by the sides of the loved ones who lost their earthly angels yesterday. and in the midst of the pain and confusion, i will welcome the thought of another, which is that sweet chamberlain, a devoted and loving husband and father, friend and co-worker, whose faith in god was always fresh and child-like, was called home the same day as those 20 tiny angels so he could share in their dancing and singing, right there in the glory of god. 

this photo was captured a day before chamberlain was taken from us. there is no explanation of what these two were discussing but that is the kind of person chamberlain was; the kind that leaned down in conversation with little children so they could see each other eye to eye, perhaps because he knew that while the little people of this world are our future and we should invest in them whole-heartedly, they also might be the closest to our god. 

may you rest in peace, sweet friend. and may you forever laugh and dance and sing with those 20 tiny angels.

“I know a little girl who claims that she talks with God and that God talks back. She is not the only little one who has ever made such a claim around me, so I listen to her, I am afraid not to.”  

- Robert Benson, “Between the Dreaming and the Coming True”