I just wanted to ask all of my readers for some more prayers for Ann and her family. Pray for strength and for God's arms to be wrapped around them. Ann is doing okay. Just pray for continued strength so that she can spend some more quality time with her family.

Grief is so intense. It just penetrates every fiber of your being. It paralyzes you. It consumes your mind, soul and body. It is emotionally and physically draining. After you have experienced it...you never want to experience it again, but it is out of our control.

Interestingly, it can be beautiful and inspiring as well. Not that anyone is looking forward to the experience. You never want to be in the position to have to grieve someone you adore, but if you find yourself there...you just might see some of the beauty in it. It can bring people closer together. You can develop unbreakable bonds with the people you are grieving for and those who will be or are left behind. It can allow you to be completely vulnerable and that opens up doors that may have never been opened. It allows you to see the strength in your own human spirit. You find out what you are really made of. A sense of what is really important in life is revealed and you are better able to manage hardships or life's stresses. And just knowing there is someone waiting for you in Heaven gives you the strength to put one foot in front of the other until you are united again.

I have struggled and struggled with my own grief. I have struggled with the question of whether or not there really is a Heaven. Will I really see my baby boy again?

I received a Nook Color for Christmas from Cory. We had a few minutes to before we needed to leave on Christmas Eve day and I really wanted to download a book for the drive. I had no idea what I was doing, but I got to the book selection page and there was a book that I felt was just meant for me to read. I felt like it was a sign from Beck that he was with us. I felt like this book was speaking to me that day. It is titled, Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back, Author Todd Burpo. A great read! It made me cry. It made me hopeful. It renewed and strengthened my belief that there is a Heaven. Some day we will all be reunited with our precious loved ones.