Sad

I've been very, very sad this week. Honestly, I am not sure I've ever grieved this hard. This picture above is of me and my Debbie. She's done my hair since I was a very tiny girl. But beyond that, her family and my family have been connected in South Florida for as long as I can remember. She has four kids just like I do. Here are her kiddos:

Those four kids: the age they were when I left South Florida. And then a more recent picture of them below that.

And then, their youngest brother dies very unexpectedly and so this is the picture we are left with:

I've searched for words to pen this post. I don't have them. Carrie (far left) has written for my Blog regularly. She is also planning to be the next couple for our Because of Isaac organization. This family is MY PEOPLE. I don't see them regularly or talk to them regularly, but I honestly believe Debbie's prayers are a major part of the reason I am a mom of four kids. She prayed me through infertility. And when I faced a return of anxiety last year, she Facetimed me multiple times to pray me through that darkness.

I love them so much. And I can't fix this. Their Christopher loved Jesus so much. He's not sad at all. He's celebrating and loving his forever. But the people on this Earth are left to grieve him.

Debbie is a hair dresser -- the owner of JeSuis in South Florida. But she is so much more. As our mutual friend Wendy Black penned recently:

Dr. Deb doing what she does best ... making hair beautiful and helping mend the broken-hearted. Many days at JeSuis ... listening to peaceful music, sipping on delicious coffee and partaking of yummy treats ... always hospitable ... always thinking of others ... at all times, leaving better than when you arrived.

I can't explain her shop. Debbie's chair is like an oasis in the dessert. Her shop is a place of the Holy Spirit. One of her former co-workers wrote the following on Facebook. She said it so well that I will let her words do the talking.

Satan sucker punched her with this one but anyone who knows her knows she’s the KO lioness. She’s the definition of spiritual gangster. Start counting to three because the game is about to change.

The thing that is so wonderful about Debbie and her family is that they make EVERYONE feel like they are their best friend. I'm not sure how they do it, but they do. My Grama Huisman had that gift. And so does Debbie. Everyone feels like "Debbie is my BFF." And so you can imagine how many people are surrounding this family right now.

I'm getting ready to fly to Florida to celebrate the life of Christopher. I'm so happy for him. So sad for everyone else. It's a really hard time to leave my family and my farm. My in-laws are gone, JB is working, and we have a trip the day after I get back.

But I HAVE to be there. My friend Anni is coming to help hold-down the farm (and kids!) for me while I am gone. 

I love you Carrie. I love you Debbie. I love you Tiffany and Eddie and Andrew.