...

I am not good with serious. I usually make a habit of avoiding it. But today my mind was unfortunately nudged into that serious place I don't enjoy being.

I received a phone call this morning that a girl I knew had been murdered. The news took a while to sit in before the inevitable sadness kicked in. I cried more than I expected, as it has been a long time since I have seen this person. I think this was due partly because I have been friends with her family for most of my life, and also because I feel like I have known far too many people who have died tragically in my relatively short adult life.

Aside from family members who have passed from sickness brought about with old age, I have known someone who died from:

cancer in their 30's
pneumonia in their 20's
a drug overdose
suicide(s)
and now murder (murder is always tragic, but she was 24, so it is especially sad)

I am happy to know that my faith gives me hope when such tragedies take place, and I can not imagine how I could cope with such unpleasantly frequent news without it.

My thoughts and prayers are with Kendra's family.