What if...

My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. (Jeremiah 8:18 NLT)

Saturday night I heard the sirens.  I remarked to my husband, "That doesn't sound good," and then as I usually do when I hear sirens, I said a silent prayer for those whose lives would be affected by whatever was bringing the emergency vehicles to action.  It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that I found out what had happened.

A young man who has been one of my son Kevin's two best friends died in a car accident that night.  Kevin, Ronnie and Matthew had been best friends since elementary school.  But in recent years, Matthew had been been involved in alcohol and drug abuse.  His friends tried to help.  They told him he was travelling the wrong road.  They finally walked away from him.  A couple of weeks before Kevin's wedding this past May, Matthew contacted Kevin and begged forgiveness, promising that he was back on track with his life and done with the drugs and alcohol.  Matthew attended Kevin's wedding.  All seemed well and Kevin even had plans to play some basketball with Matthew Sunday afternoon.  But Saturday happened.  Matthew had drugs in his system when he passed out and hit a tree at about 80 mph.

It's hard to see even your adult child grieve for a friend like that.  Kevin can't help but feel like he should have done more.  He thinks he should have known Matthew wasn't better yet.  He feels like he failed his friend.

I think Kevin and Ronnie did as much as they could for their friend.  Even in walking away, it encouraged Matthew to try to overcome his problems.  But it is hard not to say, "what if."  "What if I had given more."  "What if I had tried harder."  "What if I had looked deeper."  Maybe they could have done more... maybe nothing they could have done would have helped.  But they did reach out.  And thankfully, their relationship with one another had been reconciled before this tragedy.

Is there someone in your life that needs a little extra love from you?  Don't wait until it is too late.  You may not be able to save them from themselves, but you can make sure they know they are loved.

Please pray for Matthew's family and friends.

Father,
Help us to cherish and nurture our relationships.  Help us to reach out to those we love who are struggling.  We know we have to draw boundries with those caught up in addictions, but help us to let them know they are loved.  Amen.