A Funeral on Valentine's Day

We learned tonight that our neighbor's two year old died last weekend and the funeral is on Valentine's Day. Jonathan's death was an accident. There is no preparing for the loss of a child. I can't begin to imagine what the family is going through. Certainly my family is getting hugged a bit tighter as we offer up our prayers.

Jonathan was such a cute kid, the 7th of 8 kids in the family. His older brothers or sister would take him for a walk and I loved to see him toddling by our house exploring the world around him like it was the greatest adventure. He'd stop every couple of feet it seemed and it may have taken them a good hour to lap the block as he explored ants or rocks or whatever caught his eye.

Jonathan also had a lot of spunk. He came to visit us last month while his mom went to an appointment. This little two year old walked into our house like he owned the joint and just had the sweetest disposition while he explored and played with my kids.

I never thought I would be attending a funeral on Valentine's Day. It certainly isn't the Hallmark way to celebrate Valentine's Day. But as we honor and pay tribute to little Jonathan and the family that loves him, we may just get a better understanding of the true meaning of the holiday.