Thankful November

Today, I am thankful for having today. (Monday, Nov 7, 2011)

"Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. " James 4:13-15Yesterday my Uncle Jerry was killed in a car accident in South Carolina. We weren't close, really. He was my mom's stepbrother, and we never lived near Jerry and Nancy, so I never really got to know him.
One of the regrets I have from my childhood is that I wasn't close to my extended family. One of the downfalls of being a military child I suppose. My cousins all pretty much lived in the same place, and my brother and I were just around for the occasional holiday. Facebook has helped bring me in touch with a lot of my cousins, but it still isn't the same. I don't want my kids to feel like they don't know their cousins or Aunts and Uncles. We do our best to travel to Nebraska as often as possible, so that we can have that relationship with Cory's family, but it is a lot more difficult to do with my family, as it requires a lot more planning and money to see them.

Jerry's death comes in the wake of the death of my friends' sister just over a week ago, and that verse from James has been rolling around in my head for the past week or so. (Although, I didn't know it was from James, that I had to look up)

RIP Uncle Jerry. The world has lost a great man, God has gained an angel.