Hi my name is Donde. I am new to this group, but would like to share with you about my loss.

My sister Carol was just 48 when she died. She had been an alcoholic for several years. The saddest part of this story is that several years before that, my mother died of being an alcoholic too. She had pneumonia and because her body was not healthy, it could not fight it off.

I always wished both my mother and my sister could get past the adiction, but neither one of them was strong enough. I have a lot of faith that God can move mountains, and for some time I questioned why he couldn't give my family the strength to quite drinking. I now realize they had to want to quite. God doesn't just hand us everything.

Recently in Pekin, an 11-year old girl died on a Kabota Utility vehicle because it flipped over on her. It was so sad! I didn't even know the little girl, but I wanted everyone to pay tribute to her. She did attend church and believed in God! I am sure it gives the parents some comfort to know she is in heaven!

It is so easy to tell others how to grieve, but sometimes I don't even think we follow our own advice. Whenever someone has a loss, it brings back all those feelings all over again. One good thing that has come out of this is that I have no desire to use drugs and alcohol. I want my 8-year old son to grow up in a healthy environment. I don't want any child to experience what I have had to go thru.

This is my story. Thank you for letting me be a part of this group!

For those of you that have experience loss, I am sorry for your loss and I hope the good Lord can give you strength and peace to get through one day at a time.