A short note from Joe ...

Today is a tough day for a few of my regular readers, as well as others.  I found out yesterday that a young gal on our planning team at church, Katie, lost her grandmother.  She died at 4:30 yesterday morning.  A long time friend of mine Michelle, lost her best friend yesterday, after a long and difficult battle with heart disease.  She also has to deal with the pain of that family shutting her out.  I can't imagine a loss like that.  Another long time friend Valerie, and her cousin Kelly (who I had the privilege of meeting when we both performed at a benefit for Breast Cancer last year near Detroit) are burying Kelly's mother (Valerie's aunt) today.  And yet another friend, Brent, is burying one of his aunts today.  He traveled from California to Michigan to attend the funeral.

Death is a part of life.  We all know that.  It doesn't make dealing with it any easier though.  If you're reading this I'd ask you to pray for these people and their families.  I included first names only so that you could pray specifically for them.  A few of those mentioned above are faithful, daily readers of Chasing God, and have encouraged me at times to keep writing, saying things like "it's good for the soul" and "everyone needs to read this."  Because of that, I want to do my part to encourage them during this time.  God bless you Katie and Michelle, Valerie and Kelly, and Brent, and your families during this hard time of letting go.  I pray for God's peace, comfort, and understanding to flood your spirits today, and every day as you continue to heal and get through this time.  God bless you all.  Amen.