The 7 Tower Blues

Sitting on my bed with my oldest son (9 years old).  He's laying beside me, drawing pictures of Star Wars "armor, and weapons".  He has no idea the kind of things that happen in this world.

I'm very thankful to have a community of people to do life with.  It comes in handy in times like these.  Working as an oncology (cancer) nurse we have to live with a lot of sad endings.  Just found out about a young girl who we've been caring for, giving Chemo, etc.  She coded yesterday and did not survive.  The things I remember most from taking care of her were the marine like stubble left on her head after she had shaved it from Chemo.  I remember her kids coming to visit.  Small children.  4 or 5 years old.  They will one day have a difficult time remembering her.  I remember being happy along with her when she found out she was in remission.  I remember the day she found her cancer was back.

I don't want my son to grow up and know the worst of what this world is like.  I want him to stay here in this moment sitting next to me drawing pictures of Star Wars stuff.  I want to live in this moment with him, this time right before bed, forever.  But one day he'll figure it out.  One day, on some level, he'll experience something of it himself.  My prayer for him is that he has a community of people to go through it with someday.  Because, as a friend reminded me recently, you can't do this life alone.  Community, I think, is how God lives in this world.  I think we see something of the light and love of God through each other.  Community is spiritual.