First the joys—even long meetings can be a joy when you are with people you appreciate and when you are given information you need. Such was the case at the Early Childhood Education Center meetings in Ontario, California. These were held last week—part of a double dose of meetings, with K-12 Curriculum Committee serving as the back end of the meetings at the same location. The meetings were long but informative, particularly in the area of Early Childhood Education, where we have a lot of catching up to do in the ECEC system in Arizona.
The good news is that I asked the ECEC teacher from TCE in Scottsdale to attend. Together we are committed to formalizing and tightening the ECEC process and accreditation requirements for the betterment of the system and for the benefit of the students who grace our centers.
The week was concluded with an unexpected trip to Mexicali in the ever-developing saga of my dear mom. I had just brought her the week before from her wanderings in California only to discover that she wanted to see a doctor—not any doctor, mind you, but a Mexican doctor. This, in spite of the fact that she has total medical coverage here in the United States of America! But it was off to Mexicali to drop her off at her sister’s home; a sister that was headed to Rancho Cucamonga for the week. I was asked to take her to Cucamonga since I was already in the state. I dutifully acquiesced and spent a very pleasant four hours getting very well acquainted with my 82 year-old aunt Rebekah.
I made a rare appearance on Facebook to let people know that I was enjoying a restful Sabbath with my grandchildren and children. It was a memorable day which included home church with the grandkids, a sermon, a great meal prepared by my daughter-in-law chef, a walk to the beach, and a lot of fun leading to sundown prayer with the family back in the condo. It was then that our world was turned upside down.
My son returned a call from his cousin whose call had registered as missed on his iPhone. I remember overhearing a brief reference to the Detroit Tigers game (my nephew is a big Tigers’ fan). I sensed that the conversation did not develop as anticipated since I expected more discussion of the results. Instead my son’s voice turned somber as I sensed something serious had taken place, but I did not know exactly what.
When he hung up his voice was ashen as he informed all of us that one of my nephews—7 years old, had been accidently shot and killed. The details were painful to hear and more excruciating to imagine when placed in context. What had begun as a family outing in Idaho with a dad, a son, and a nephew, ended suddenly with the youngest of the three fatally injured. The wheels had come off my wife’s very close-knit family. And just as suddenly the replacement wheels were set in motion to bring the family together for comfort and prayer. We prayed there for the family.
The next day provided an opportunity for the family that had not already gone to Idaho to get together and pray together to assist the little cousins trying to grapple with tragedy and death. It was a hard meeting with many tears by people of all ages. I was asked to lead out. It was a God thing. We prayed together again.
Today I will be leaving at the conclusion of the K-12 Education Board to Idaho for the services. Please send up a prayer for the family. There will be need for much healing—it will be a long road. But God is good—all the time! How to see His goodness in this tragedy will be a God thing.
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