An Answer

A response to anyone who wonders why we STILL talk about Austin, and why the holidays are STILL hard even though it's been 3 1/2 years . . . .

Very few of you have walked in our shoes, and we are thankful that those of you who haven't, don't know such pain as this.

That being said, we would like to caution you against judging a situation you know very little about. You have no idea the magnitude of circumstances that we have experienced in the last three years as a result of Austin's death and the toll these have taken on our mental and physical health.

It is truly ONLY by God's grace that we are still standing today.

We DO find much comfort in knowing that Austin is perfect in glory, however that DOESN'T make the pain go away.

One thing (out of many) that we have learned throughout this journey is that this pain will NEVER go away. As long as we are breathing, we will continue to ache for our son. It is only when we are brought to glory ourselves that the pain will be alleviated.

We have also learned that grief is as unique to a person as their fingerprint. No two people grieve exactly the same way, or in exactly the same time frame.

In light of that, we would like to encourage you to really think before making a hasty conclusion about the way it looks to you, and to take a moment to pray for us. Pray for us and for all who are missing their precious children. . . . because there are still so many times where we struggle to find the words to pray because the pain we feel is so deep.

We know you can't fix it, and we DON'T expect you to. The ONLY thing you can do for us, is to bring our needs before our Father in heaven. He ALONE can bring comfort to His hurting people.