june

There are many, many sad things that have happened in the past year, each one of them keeping me humble and on my knees. There is Terry’s friend Dustin Salter- an amazing dad, husband, and pastor to college students through RUF at Furman. He was riding a bike with his sons, just spending some “dad” time with them, falls off his bike, and now has suffered brain injuries for 3 months. You can read about his journey here.

Then there is Brian Hatton – a man I have never met, but he too had an accident and suffers major brain injuries. He lies in a hospital bed, just a Dustin does, with a child at home and loved ones by his side day in and day out talking to him, squeezing his hand, and doing just about anything to “excite” his brain. His story is told here.

This past weekend my best friend’s father was rushed into surgery to drain a hematoma. If Woody hadn’t gone to the doctor when he did, he could have suffered an irreversible coma or paralysis on one side of his body.

Then I think back to last June…June 9 to the exact. I had a major deadline for a project at the University of Alabama that day. Our whole team had been working around the clock, on weekends, and some nights until 1 or 2 in the morning. I was exhausted. Then I get the phone call. The phone call every person dreads to hear. My 19 year old cousin passed away during the night and didn’t wake up the next morning. Tragedy. My heart breaks to even think about it. We later learned that he had suffered an aneurysm – again, another injury to the brain but this time a life was taken, my cousin’s life. Had he seen another day, June 10 would have been his 20th birthday.

So what is it with the brain? I think about these four people who have affected my life in some way and I wonder why did God turn their brains off, or save one in Woody’s case. There are days where I wish I could turn my brain off; I think we all have those days. There are certainly days, months or even a year here and there that I wish my brain would let me forget. Then there are times when my Terry is so stressed with work that I want my brain to take on those stresses for him so that he can have a good night’s rest. The heart keeps us alive, but the brain, that keeps us human. And on top of being very human right now, I am very pregnant. And as with any pregnancy there is a due date – mine is June 10.

I go in Addison’s room every night to pray for her. Last night I wept as I prayed. My brain will not let me forget that June 10 has two meanings. That day, that week, heck even that month will forever be one of celebration and one of loss. There is no way around it, there is no way to forget it. It is forever embedded in my brain. I’m not really saying anything profound, thought-provoking, or even humorous with this post, but I am saying what my head thinks – June is going to hard, that week will be hard. But I know, no matter what the emotion, life will be celebrated – for both Addison and Nick, we will celebrate!