Not a good weekend....

Last weekend was filled with a string of bad news...they kept coming and did not stop until the very end.

It started with my sister telling me about their friend's 6 month old son, who got diagnosed with kidney cancer. Just 6 months old - can you imagine? A kidney has been removed and chemo is to start shortly. The young parents have no family around, and I'm sure they must be in the trenches with their emotions.

I also made a tough phone call to a neighbor.....they lost their 17-month old daughter last month while we were away. She was such a precious, healthy little child....and it was a very sudden loss. I am yet to meet them...but I'm sure I will be at a loss of words when I do.

I recently attended a cousin's wedding in Bangalore. It was such a happy event.....I really enjoyed spending time with all my cousins and came back with happy memories. We found out last weekend that my cousin's mother-in-law, a very sweet lady who always wore a smile on her face, got diagnosed with breast cancer. Not even a month after her daughter's wedding, which the family hosted with such pride and fanfare....they have to deal with this difficult situation.

These news were coming in on Saturday, and by the end of the day, I was emotionally spent. A friend visited us with his soon-to-turn-1-year old and he brought his cousin along with him. One look at the girl and you could tell something was wrong. He told me she was assaulted earlier in the week by some black men. I won't go into much detail but it was a scary, traumatic experience. I'm glad she is safe with us now, but an incident like this is enough to alter a person's life.

On Sunday, we had another friend visit us. They are a couple I adore, and I've known them for a very long time. They mentioned about their cousin's son who is battling an allergic reaction to some drug and has been in ICU, on a respirator, since the last two weeks. My friend has been sending care packages to them every week and she had just finished sending a big package before they came to meet us.

Although none of these things have affected my immediate family, does it really matter? The empathy and sorrow that I feel towards these friends and acquaintances is the same. I can't just shrug off their thoughts from my mind easily.

I keep asking: how can I help? why them? why children? I look at my kids and wonder what if something happens to them? Sometimes, its just plain luck. But no one is always lucky, right? Someday, it will be us, and it will directly impact us.

It's just shaken me to the core - this string of bad news. Once I find a way to reach out, and help - in some way or the other, I'll feel a bit better.

Till then, please pray. For strength and for healing.