A Sad Day

Today was supposed to be a celebration for my son and his class as they graduated from grade 9 (no more Junior High! wooHOO!!) but it turned out to be a very sad day. We received a call this morning that one of his classmates committed suicide last night. The two of them were friends and hung out as teenage boys do so the news hit hard.

Instead of a joyous day, it's been a sober day. The remaining classmates gathered at school today to seek out each other, knowing very little except that no one wanted to be alone. They told stories of good times and wished they could have done something to prevent this. They've vowed to always remember him and to support each other. They're good kids, most with God's love in their hearts. One of their teachers read a passage from Isaiah about young men not growing weary but being given the strength of the Lord and prayed with them. Many parents were there too - all not quite knowing what to do or how to ease this situation for their children.

I've become a hover-Mom over my own son as I can't imagine the pain of another Mom today. I know she'll treasure the photos and other memories she has of her son, and they will comfort her after she sees him laid to rest in a few days. And I think - isn't this why we do what we do as crafters? We create scrapbook pages that are more than photos; they are pages that tell our stories and commemorate our lives. We create handmade cards that say "I care" much louder than anything store-bought could. We create gifts from our hearts, inspired by the hearts of those for whom we create. And we love doing this so much partly because of how much we love the people for whom we do it.

I hope you'll excuse me as I go hover.