There are many kinds of sadness in life that we may encounter as we journey along. Recently I was remembering images from the Viet Nam war that I grew up with. I remember the horrific & sad news clips and I often wonder how all those suffering people are doing now.

It still happens, every day around the world someone is suffering. It may be war, oppression, hunger, disease or crime that causes pain, or sometimes it can be one’s own mind. Sometimes it happens very near by.

I am going to a funeral tomorrow, a friend of mine’s son died this week. There is nothing as sad as a parent losing a child. How much we want our children to grow up happy & healthy and to live a fulfilling life. Life is precious, each person is precious, but sometimes they don’t know it.

I don’t know the details yet so I don’t want to write too much, but this young man was sad. Now I am very sad to know that he is gone and his family is grieving so deeply. I remember his smiling face from my Sunday School classes and summer camps. What happened to that grinning cherub of a boy? They live an hour away and I have not seen him for several years.

I wish it had not happened like this. I wish I had known that he was suffering. I wish he could have received the help he needed. I hope now he can begin to understand how much he was loved. Sometimes we just don’t realize the pain that can be hidden behind a smile. I don’t know why this happened and I can’t help but feel that it should not have happened. At least I hope he can find peace in his heart now, but I fear that his parents will struggle to find peace in their own hearts. My prayers are with them.