Sorrow

I started out today to write a humorous post about my various similarities to my namesake, based mostly on the fact that I, much like cats, enjoy taking naps in the sun.

But right as I logged in to write it, I got a call from my brother John. I love hearing from John, as he is my closest sibling age-wise and I feel like I'm very close to him and his wife. After a few minutes of lighthearted conversation, we started to talk about his brand new, incredibly beautiful baby girl. The baby girl that he and his wife just found out has moderate permanent hearing loss.

It's hard for me to handle hearing the sharp edge of hidden pain in a person's voice. The hint at a sadness that I can do nothing to alleviate. To hear about this beautiful child, who though perfect, still has a problem that has completely altered the world of my brother and his family.

This was heaped upon a pretty odd few days, where I've seen and heard of more people who are secretly suffering, bearing through pain in silence. And it's difficult to want to help, to want to take action, but to be unable to do anything but sit back and pray with all your soul.

So that's what I'm going to do. And just know, everyone out there who is going through trials and hardships, you are not alone. There are people who care about you more than you know. And they will always, always be there for you.