Life and Death

Funny how death makes you think about life. Most people would probably argue the opposite, that death makes you think of death. Not so with me. When death happens, it makes me take stock of my life. Just last week I experienced something for the first time in my life - a funeral for a baby. Looking at that little casket and the tiny baby lying there really brought home the fact that life is short. Dear little Carson entered this world too early. He fought for his life for five weeks. He was born Dec. 6, 2008. His due date was March 18, 2009. He now resides in heaven. I like to think that my grandpa is holding him up there just like he once held Carson's mother when she was little. I never got the chance to hold him as I did his mother many years ago. Even though she was not my child, she became "my daughter". She spent much time at our house during her growing up years. She has always called me her second mother. Now my heart hurts for her in the loss of her first child. What do you say to a person in this situation at the funeral? It's easy to say things for an older person such as, "They had a good life" etc., but how do you express sorrow for a life that was so short? I know many people may have frowned upon an open casket, but his life was no less important than if he would have been an adult. My thoughts turned to one of the most prevalent issues of our day - abortion. How someone can kill an innocent life so small is beyond me yet it happens every day. There we stood grieving the death of a tiny baby who was loved and valued for his small time on earth and later it made me think of the thousands and thousands of little ones whose lives are taken every day because of someone's decision. It made me hold on to my little ones at work a little longer last week and I held some of the babies close, all the while reminded that someone else's arms are empty. It's said that time has a way of healing things, but the reminder of that sweet little one will always be there no matter how much time marches on. It reminds you of how much you are not in control of your life, of how much each life matters no matter how young or old, of how quickly life can be taken from you. That's why death makes me think about life.