When A Friend Passes...The World Is Not The Same

 Last night, after posting pictures and blogs, I remained on social media, something I usually do most nights. A story caught my attention. An Ogden Utah man was killed in a motorcycle accident. I thought it was strange someone was riding his bike at night in the middle of a northern Utah winter.

Then the story left my mind...

Until this morning, when after church my wife told me the man who lost his life was a family friend.

When news like this hits, it shakes your world, weakens your foundation, hurts your soul. We've known this man's family for decades. We first met the family when they had two children, just like us. They lived in our neighborhood and we both lived in basement apartments. Even though both families have moved over the years, we've stayed close. My wife and the man's mom chat together, their phone calls sometimes lasting hours. We know what is happening with their children, and they ours. We've laughed together, prayed together, and now, mourn together.

Their son was their oldest, married, living away from home. He worked hard, a blue-collar man who loved engines, especially when surrounded by muscle cars and beautiful bikes. Whenever I interacted with him, his smile was infectious. He was a big bear of a man, but that smile burned bright.

There is but one undeniable truth upon which all can agree (or should agree...). That truth is, if you're born you must one day die. The body that gives life will one one day stop living, stop growing, stop loving. Just as a sunrise guarantees a sunset. But, looking at it differently, a sunset guarantees a sunrise.

The sun will rise tomorrow, just as it did this morning where the earth had one less person able to see it. Left behind are those with broken hearts that will never fully mend.