I had every good intention of posting Sunday night. It was going to be about sunsets.

See, we celebrated with our pastor and his family Sunday as they said farewell. It was an amazing service filled with worship and love and memories. As God would have it, the sunset Sunday night was nothing short of spectacular. I was driving for much of the period that the sky transitioned out of daylight and stopped at several points to snap photos because it was just.so.beautiful. I ran into fields caked with snow and I know Connor was like, ‘that mom, she’s a crazy one.’ But Connor, my little insightful boy, sunsets are symbolic of farewells. 

But after we settled in for the evening, I was consumed with prepping for a work trip and didn’t have time to post.

And then, Monday happened. After dropping Connor off at school, I drove past the home of a family that was one of those families I was referring to the other day in my breathing post. I don’t normally drive by there but I decided to run an errand that took me in that direction. I saw the lights were on and I prayed with every ounce of my being for indescribable peace over that home.

Kaelee Grace Noble passed away Monday afternoon following a valiant battle with cancer. I was in Kansas City when I saw the news and my heart sank, but I also knew that she wasn’t afraid. She knew, even at her tender, young age, where she was going. And following the news, my feed was filled with sunsets … spectacular sunsets that looked much like the one Sunday night.

Kaelee’s courageous, nothing-short-of-amazing grandma posted about her daughter calling her out to see the sunset after Kaelee passed and that God was relaying the message that Kaelee had arrived. And just like this sweet little fighter’s middle name, God shared that sunset with us. Just like God gifted the Noble family (and our whole community) with Kaelee for her time here on Earth, He graced us with that sunset these past two evenings as a peaceful reminder of the gift we’ve been given.

And just like her, none of us fights alone.