I've written a bit before about little Brock Meadows and his family. They are such sweet, wonderful people, and watching them walk through life this past year without their youngest son has been both heartwrenching and inspiring. I think we all wonder sometimes how strong our faith really is; would it withstand the ultimate trial? Could it go through the furnace and come out as gold? For Drew & Nita and their family, the answer is yes. They'll tell you plainly that they have had a hard time, but instead of blaming God or turning away from Him, they have run right into His arms. They have climbed up in their Abba's lap and asked Him to kiss where it hurts. They have asked Him to keep holding their hands as they walk through this grief. They know without a doubt that they will see Brock again one day. They wish it could be today, but they know God be with them until whatever day that may be.January 31st was the 1st anniversary of Brock's death, and I wrote a bit about the beautiful service they held in their yard that day. Yesterday was Brock's birthday; he would have been four years old. Last year they were deep in very fresh grief when his 3rd birthday came, so they wanted only their immediate family with them on that day. This year, they wanted a bigger celebration, so Nita asked for everyone to release balloons on Brock's birthday and to send photos of the balloons being released. I'm not sure what all she'll be doing with them, but they knew they'd be very encouraged by having that tangible proof of how many of us were thinking of them.
We chose to release four balloons, since this was his fourth birthday. It was almost sunset when we released them. Kathryn released one, then I did, then Ken, and Kathryn released the last one. We said silent prayers for Brock's family as we did so, and then stood and watched them float up, up, up... til they were out of sight. 
Go hug your little ones tight, and as you do, please say a prayer for Drew & Nita, who don't get to tuck little Brockie in at night, and for Brock's brothers who also miss him dearly. Please pray for all the other families who are missing a loved one today, too. I'm thankful for Nita & Drew who have been glorifying God even in their darkest times, because they prove that this life is often hard, but the God who created the universe is big enough to handle all of our problems, hurts, and fears.
