Today is my niece Kellee’s birthday. She would be 26 years old today…
…if she had not been killed in a car accident when she was 19.
Ironically—and yet, poignantly—she was on her way home from visiting her grandma (my mom) who was in the hospital recovering from bypass surgery.
We were thinking we might lose my mother. Instead, we lost our Kellee.
Kellee has been in my heart a lot lately—one, because I always think of Kellee in the fall, and two, because I am reading Amy Welborn’s Wish You Were Here,
(He died on February 3, 2009, after collapsing at the gym. You may read his blog here and his obituary here.)
This book is an advance copy and will be released in February of 2012. I recommend that you go to Amazon and pre-order yours now, especially if you have lost someone that is close to you or even, you know, if you think that you might.
Because it’s inevitable, isn’t it, losing someone we love? It is not a question of “What if” but “When will?” and that becomes “How can I prepare my heart?”
The answer, of course, is you can’t—not really.
But you can pray beg for the grace and the faith that you’ll need.
This book is a hard read and yet—I have to say this—it is so very good. If you are familiar with Amy Welborn’s writing—and she has a blog, you can see it here—you know that she is a gifted storyteller. She is able to take a loss that is so very painful…and has rendered it beautiful and full of hope.
That’s the power of the cross, isn’t it? That’s the cross and the resurrection.
Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? (1 Cor. 15:55)
Note: I will publish a full review when this book is available. For today, though, and in honor of my niece Kellee…I wanted to share a preview.
I'm sorry about your niece, what a tragic loss for your whole family.
I do not want to read this book,at least not now, I cry enough while preggers.
I'm sure your review will make me want to though.
I only have a couple of her kiddo books.
Prayers for your niece today and for you.
It is difficult to let go of our loved ones . . . but thankfully our Faith sustains us, lifts us up, and lifts THEM up, too! I am sorry you lost your niece . . . I can't fathom that kind of loss. I will await your review before I pre-order 'cos I have a STACK of books and now the Kindle packed with goodies. I will buy the book at some point, though, I am sure.
God bless you, and be your every comfort!
I am glad you are recommending this book. I know I will read it one day, but my heart just can't do it yet. I end up crying for all the other people who are carrying this same cross that is so hard to bear.
I think I need to read it now… before it's too hard. I've been struggling a lot lately with knowing that one day I will lose someone I love dearly — unless I get to go first.
I ordered it, Margaret. I'm very sorry about your Kellee. Particularly for her parents. It's a pain that has a life of it's own, it never lessens. Prayers for your family.
Thank you for the book idea. I don't even want to think about loosing people close to me because the grief is too much. I am going to read it though because as I get older, so do the people around me and it is just a fact of life.
God bless your family in the loss of your niece. Praying that God's grace continues to be sufficient.
Thank you for your sharing, Margaret. Our firstborn has cystic fibrosis and we've had to make peace with the truth that None of Us is Guaranteed Tomorrow. Not even our healthy loved ones. We have some Catholic teen Bibles with articles interspersed written by Amy. So good. So helpful. Will look forward to this book and will add Kellee and Michael and their families to our family prayers this day.
Thank you, everyone, especially for praying for my niece and her family. This has been very, very hard on my sister.
Thank you so much for this!
I know it is a difficult book but I also hope that it is ultimately hopeful…that's why I wrote it – to explore how I had to confront what hope in Christ REALLY means in the face of what seems to be the most hopeless.
Thanks again for the post – I appreciate it and am glad you were able to read the book!
Amy, your book is replete with hope.
I just lost my mom. It was not even on my radar screen that that could happen. She was so full of life and had multiple projects in the works. On the last day of my parents' vacation, she just didn't wake up. Then, 3 days later, my (almost) 104 year old grandma passed away. Her longevity is probably why I never considered losing my mom! Seems like this is a book for me.
Kate, I'm so sorry. You and your family are in my prayers, especially throughout this weekend of feasts that are very special to me.