A "Thank You"

 Instead of the "Weekly Top Five" post, which was obviously dominated by the posts concerning my son's death, I wanted to take out some time to express my gratitude. I think it is only right to do so. 

There have been so, so many people who have reached out, texted, and visited over this past week. When you think you are toiling away in a corner in this world and you find yourself thinking, "Probably no one is watching", this comes as a total surprise.  My family is overwhelmed and grateful for all of you who have expressed concern, or have even thought about us at all, since last weekend's tragedy.

While all this is extremely encouraging, helpful, and reminds us we are not alone, there is still a long way to go before we get out of this storm we're in here. The seas have calmed significantly, but there are still times when grief hits like a bolt of lightning. The rain comes in the form of tears. I suspect the ragged edges of this storm will be with us for quite some time.  

Still, we treasure each of you who either have contacted me directly here, via email, text, or on social media. We treasure all the hugs and kind words we received at Jacob's memorial service Friday. We are blown away by the support we received via a GoFundMe set up by one of my wife's associates. The support of our church family has been nothing short of a miracle working in an outpouring of love from our congregation. 

So, there is no way I could ever thank you all, or ever be able to express, our gratitude for even the smallest gesture. Please understand we here truly do appreciate it all and you. 

 I will simply just say "Thank You".