Dealing with Death

It has been such a joy lately to share in fun news with friends. Peter and I are definitely at the stage where most people around us are happily married and starting to or continually adding to their families. It is fun to share in pregnancy with good girlfriends and definitely fun to look forward to play dates, funny things our children will say and just being a family together!

Unfortunately the older we get the more we also seem to deal with death. Peter and I have both been very fortunate. He still has 2 grandparents and I still have 3. The older I get the more I realize how special that "grandparent" time is to children. It is a little strange looking at our parents and realizing that our children will not know them as "parents" but as "grandparents".

Peter and I are blessed with so many grandparent memories. I look forward to making those memories with my parents and my children as well.

Sometimes we have people in our lives that provide a lot of the same benefits that grandparents can provide. In my life one of those couples is LeRoy and Jackie Saunier. Jackie was my Bible Quizzing coach for 6 years and put up with a lot of middle-school Laura. Looking back now I am so thankful for the benefits I reaped by spending lots of close time with both Jackie and LeRoy. Those years were so important in my spiritual growth and development and they both prayed for me and set an example for me that I strive to achieve.

Today after a long illness LeRoy was blessed to finally go on to be with the Lord. It's interesting how different people can see death. I feel fortunate that I am able to rejoice with LeRoy and his family that he is in heaven. I am thankful that we can be confident of that. I am thankful for his life and testimony. I am thankful for his example. I am thankful for his prayers.

I hope someday when Peter and I are the age of Jackie and LeRoy that we will remember to invest in the lives of others. I hope someone will be able to say that they were confident we prayed for them and that we tried to be an example for them.

Our pastor always says you should finish strong. You never "retire" from your faith. And I'm telling you what, LeRoy Saunier sprinted to the finish!