An Update

Several of y'all have asked how Elise and her boys are doing, and I guess if I were a normal, non-wordy person I'd just say "as well as can be expected" and then hit "publish post."

But I'm so not normal. And so not non-wordy (which I believe is a descriptive phrase used far and wide because of the sheer awkwardness of its construction).

All that to say: I need to backtrack a little bit.

I mentioned before that Paul died as a result of a freak accident. I haven't said what happened specifically because, well, I just haven't, and initially it just seemed a little unnecessary to re-hash all the whys and wherefores in the midst of Elise's shock and grief. Plus, after you make a statement like "it was a freak accident," people start to conjure up all kinds of crazy scenes in their heads since we live in a culture where people expect "freak accident" to resemble a "Fear Factor" stunt gone terribly awry.

But the truth of the matter is that Paul fell off of a golf cart. The cart was moving, and he stood up, and he lost his balance, and he fell and hit his head. He never regained consciousness after it happened.

And that's why, when E. and I were talking on the phone the morning after the accident, in the wake of something so seemingly random and "HUH?!?!"-ish, just about the only words of comfort I could offer were "God is Sovereign. He has known that this would happen and that He would allow it since before Paul was born."

To which she replied, "I know. I know. Mama has been saying that to me, too." Then she laughed a little bit through her tears and said, in typical Elise fashion, "But I would've liked to have been privy to just a LITTLE of this information beforehand, you know?"

So, to answer your sweet questions about how she's doing: she's doing pretty well most of the time. She's doing whatever she can for her boys. She's finishing up some remodeling work. She's cleaning out her house. She's tending to the inevitable business-y stuff. She's comforting family members and friends. She's crying sometimes. And she's missing her husband.

But her faith is strong. She knows that God is Sovereign. She knows that God loves her. She knows that He is faithful. And she knows that He is good.

She really does.

She's also laughing a whole bunch. In fact, a couple of nights ago when I told her that when I was typing some stuff for the memorial service program, her daddy walked in the room, sat down, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Tell me a little bit about your walk with the Lord. And tell me if your husband walks with you" - well, I thought she was going to wet her pants. Hearing her laugh is a good thing.

But the shock of the accident - the magnitude of her family's loss - not going away anytime soon.

Keep praying for her and her boys.