This was not my plan.

I did not think

this

was how it was going to end.

I thought

I would be spending the last 4 days

offering words of encouragement to you,

with a big send-off

in celebration

of the completion

of the 31-Day-Commitment

we made with each other.

But that did not happen.

Somebody needed me.

And I needed to be there.

I did not think

this

was how it was going to end.

This was not my plan.

I thought we'd have so much more time.

So did his mother,

his father,

his sisters,

his friends,

and everyone else who loved him.

He was only 13.

There is a gaping wound

in our hearts.

It's true what they say about grief.

It does

come

in waves.

And now we navigate it.

We navigate life without him.

May we all remember:

Our thoughts,

words,

and actions

matter.

And we

will

never know

when they

will

be

our last.

On Day 25, I was sorting socks.

On Day 27, we were "hittin' the beach."

Because I did not know what would happen on Day 28.

I could never have known.

No one did.

But God -

"Then Jesus,

calling out

with a

loud voice,

said,

'Father,

into

your hands

I commit

my spirit!'

And

having

said this,

he

breathed