hear you me

May angels lead you in,
hear you me, my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go,
may angels lead you in.

Is it ever the "right" time for someone to leave this life? Sometimes a death is expected, other times it is the last thing you could imagine, but no matter the timing or circumstances, it is never easy. This week has been one that I hope doesn't become common for me, on Saturday our institute director Brother Van passed away and today one of Josh's best friends, Matt, also passed on. Two very different circumstances, but similar feelings could be found. At Brother Van's funeral service there was much talk of good times and most of it was spent honoring the many great things Brother Van had done in his life. You could tell that Brother Van was at peace as was his family. Matt's passing wasn't quite as expected. He was involved in an accident on Monday and didn't make it through his surgery today. I've never met Matt, but he knew who I was and wrote me a letter asking me to do him a favor. From his words I could tell he was at peace with whatever happened and that he was ok with dying. He was only in his mid-20's, but he knew that even when we aren't expecting things, we have to take them in stride. None of us know when our time here is going to be fulfilled, but that gives us every reason to live in the moment and love with everything that we have. We weren't sent here just to be alive, we were sent to live and to enjoy. Who knows the impact we might have on those around us? Who can put on paper the number of people we influence in one day? When our time comes are we going to be happy we lived, or disappointed that we didn't get enough time? The decision is ours and ours alone.