While I was sleeping...

Okay, so I tried to send a  blog update from my phone and it posted as 12 different blogposts, but I've corrected it.

I am sitting in a mall right now, glad to be out of the hotel and enjoying being by myself. But right now i'm left to my thoughts and they are bothering me.
I found out this morning that an old class mate from Buffalo High School died on Tuesday night.
One of my friends just found out that one of her parents is seriously ill right now.
One of my cousin's is being held on false charges of child abuse until further notice.
My brother's baby might be born at any time or it just might be false labor, we don't know.
And I'm dealing with some pain from a pulled muscle in my back/hip.
All things considered I know that I am blessed beyond measure. There is good and bad in life and i feel removed from all of it, yet very close to it at the same time.
I've been thinking about everything that happens while I'm sleeping and my role as a christian.

While I was sleeping tuesday night and last night a family was watching one of thier own step into eternity.
A friend was struggling with the question of whether she will lose her dad.
A young girl was anticipating the birth of her first child and experiencing possible pains of labor.
And a father is sitting in jail wondering why someone would accuse him of beating a child he loves.
While I was sleeping the world was turning and people's lives went on. I don't want to be removed from peoples lives. I want to enter into their joys and pains even when i'm not present with them. While I was sleeping I could have been praying or encouraging them on the phone or just writing letters. I will get my rest but may the world never find me sleeping again.

Jobs and Death

I really love my job. I don't know what it is, but I really, truly love being there. I love the kids I work with. I think they are fantastic. They are also hilarious.

On Wednesday the kids were being testy, and two of them were arguing back and forth. The autistic kid speaks up and says "Where's the love?" I had been trying to regain control of my group and when he said that I couldn't help but laugh. ( I refer to him and others by descriptions like 'the autistic kid', or 'the blind girl' because I was told I'm allowed to tell people the cute stories, but I'm not allowed to disclose the identiy of the students by saying their names)

In other not so great news, when my dad picked me today he asked it I'd recieved any bad news phone calls and I hadn't, so he told me that my Uncle Clarence (well.. my grandma's brother), he died last night from a massive heart attack. I was really shocked. I was sure Uncle Clarence would have lived another twenty years at least. He was healthy. I didn't know how to act or what to do. I wasn't exactly close with him, but he was very important in my mom's life when she was younger. I've seen posts on facebook from my cousin Bethany detailing who he was to her, and also how a few other members of the family took the news.

You know, I used to think that the younger the person is, the harder it is to deal with thier death, and I do still believe that's true, but I think there's another important factor, whether the death is expected or not. From what I heard, Uncle Clarence was gone before they the EMT's got him to the hospital.

Clarence Trowbridge was a pillar in both his family and in his community. He will be missed, but he has the joy of meeting God now.