Spent time in a Civil War-era graveyard with my two sons today. We reflected on the tragedy of life cut short but also discussed how the people buried there were all like us at one point. All of them were once little children, adolescents, and, for those who survived it, adults. Many welcomed their own children into the world. And yet, all of them ended up in the same place. Someday, there will be people standing on our graves, contemplating the same things.

Death is part of our experience here. It is part of life and an inevitable step we will all take at some point, not always at a time convenient to us or our loved ones, but the timing is never in our control. Celebrate what we have in the moment but recognize that when we step over, it is not the end. There is more to this life than I think we sometimes recognize. Your friend is not far from you or those who loved him.