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| My aunt with her beautiful Emanuel, one of the most precious little angels that ever walked on this planet. Here he was wearing an outfit we had sent him for his most recent birthday. |
My family and I were recently struck with news that we wouldn’t wish could ever happen to our worst enemy (even if we had any).
That little bundle of joy you see above passed away this past weekend…
Needless to say, it was a somber weekend for us. But that doesn’t begin to describe what our family in Colombia must have felt.
Emanuelito is was the son of my uncle’s former wife (who will forever be my aunt even though they’re not together anymore) and her former husband (whom she was married to for a brief period of time long after she and my uncle had split).
She and my uncle had had three children– my youngest cousins: a boy and two girls. In other words, Emanuelito was their half brother. And as such, he was practically my cousin as well.
But even though my loss is nothing compared to their loss, I’m still grieving for losing a cousin. A cousin I had never met but for whom I would have nevertheless gladly given up my life. A cousin whose passing I’d rather not think about because I still can’t accept it happened.
I believe that God is good and that everything happens for a reason. My theory is that God brought Emanuel to my aunt’s life at a time when she needed it the most (as I understand it, he was born after she and her second husband had separated) to bring some much-needed relief. His big brother just became 17, so Emanuel was her youngest angel.
He is missed by many more people than I can count (incl. my cousins, their grandparents, their aunts and uncles on their mom’s side, etc.) –all of whom admit that they would have wanted God to let them borrow him for a little more time.
God,
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
-Reinhold Niebuhr
And may Emanuel become our family’s newest guardian angel.