You raise me up...

Thinking about family this morning.

It hurts a lot when someone you love is so badly wounded--spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

You ask yourself: "What could I have done to prevent this? Could I have reached out to her more? Could I have made sure she had someone in her life that would listen without judging? Why wasn't I there for her? Why didn't I step up to the plate? When she contacted me, why didn't I follow up?"

And then you make the decision: "In the future, I will be there for her. I will make an effort to be a light in her pain. I will do everything I can to protect someone that is older than me...but that doesn't mean I can't fight beside her. I will tell her whenever I can that I love her--always have, even when we were so distant from who we used to be. And I will pray for her regularly, often, and fervently."

That future? It starts today. Today, I start fighting an "elephant."

"There is no life - no life without its hunger; Each restless heart beats so imperfectly; But when you come and I am filled with wonder, sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity." [Selah, is the version that I know, but I think Josh Groban actually wrote the song? Maybe?]