Loss is something everyone experiences but no one can prepare you for. It comes unexpectedly and takes the least deserving. The pain from the death of a loved one is the harshest feeling in the world. It consumes you and hurts parts of your soul you never knew it could. It engulfs your entire being, it steals your breath, and it destroys your heart. No words, no memories, no embrace will make the pain go away. And the one person that could heal you is the one who is gone.

Loss is felt even when you did not know the person. The unexpected death of Kobe Bryant and the other victims in that helicopter crash affected me greatly. I was not even a close follower of Kobe Bryant, but I knew his reputation, his goodheartedness, and to rewatch interviews and games knowing that this great man will never walk this earth again destroys me.

Loss does not discriminate. It has no boundaries, no enemies, and no conquerors. It simply comes in a moment and leaves you with a lifetime of pain. The hole death gashes in your heart will never be mended, but it will leave a scar. People say it gets easier. Well, it doesn't. It just gets numb until one day the scar reopens, but this time the gash is not as big. And then a new scar forms and the cycle continues until you will be reunited with your loved one and become whole again.

I pray every night to those I've lost and I look forward to the day we will be together again in Heaven. When I pray to my grandparents, I see them with their loved ones they've lost and with whom they're finally reunited. I see the older generations sitting together laughing, playing cards, drinking wine and coffee at a big table together watching down on all of us. I see the losses from this earth compiling together once again as family in Heaven. And that gives me hope. That image and belief keep me going. That is why I keep my faith.