A Sad Day

I learned today that a former colleague and sometime acquaintance of mine passed away yesterday. He was sick and went to take a nap only to not wake up. I found out today that he had been sick with AIDS. It's such a strange thing. I've known this guy since I got to Dallas and he was so full of life. I can't believe that he'll never get to share that passion with anyone else again.

This guy is the first person I've known to pass away from AIDS. I suspect he won't be the last either. I've realized for about 2 years now that life as I've always known it will never be the same. I'm meeting more people who are divorced, more people who have diseases, more people who have been addicted to drugs. I wonder if my parents or grandparents ever had these issues when they were my age. Maybe it wasn't the same situations, but I wonder if they realized as they were getting older that life as they knew it would never be the same, and that they were going to meet more people who had been afflicted with some tragedy in their life.

I guess that it makes me realize that we can't take life for granted. All the stresses, complaints, fears that we have shouldn't matter. We need to be thankful for every day that God gives us, for every challenge that we have to endure because it means that we were lucky enough to have another day to face our challenges, and another day to love the people in our lives.

On that note, I say a prayer for my friend who will never get to experience the joy of life again, and I pray for my friends and family who are going through hard times right now, that they may realize how lucky they are to live another day. I love you all.