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I apologize for having hijacked this thread for such personal news. That being said, I very much appreciate the responses from everyone.

To give closure - backstory to present:
My wife and I met at our 25th high school reunion in 1997. Her first husband had died of Leukemia when her three children were all under 9 years old. The experience caused her to get in a serious fight with God that ended in an absolute miracle (He spoke to her and supernaturally completely calmed her).

By the time we were married, her children were all 21 or younger. Yes, this was my stepson who I first met when he was 19.

He became a truck driver for a fuel delivery company and started his own company about a decade ago. He became quite wealthy, but did so through hard work and tireless commitment. One of his clients is Ohare airport. It was not unusual for him to have to work late at night, covering for drivers that called in sick and he needed to cover their routes.

About five years ago he was in a VERY dangerous area in Chicago at night, holding up in a parking lot, in VERY cold weather, when an elderly black man came up to him and asked to sit with him. For some odd reason he let him. The man told him that he shouldn’t be there because it is very dangerous, and they talked for a while. Anyway, a little later on, a group of youths with attitude approached the vehicle and the elderly man got out and confronted them. They left. And then he said goodbye to my son and left himself. My wife to this day believes that man was a guardian angel. I agree.

Anyway, this past Sunday he was covering for one of his drivers and had rented a car (he doesn’t take his car out in the chicago salt), and it was this rental car that he was in when he went off the road on the ice and into a tree. My wife was in Chicago and staying at his apartment (that’s another story) with our granddaughter. That was a Godsend because the two of them are VERY close and they are getting each other through this. The weather has cleared and I’m heading out today to help with everything.

Though my stepson and I were not “that” close, due to the time I came into his life, we had discussed “life, the universe and everything” and, of course, God, Jesus, and His purpose for our lives and creating us. So had my wife. But her biggest concern is that she feels she didn’t do enough to bring him all the way. It’s going to be the strongest “aftertaste” to this whole thing. I’m praying that God will do for her another miracle.

I don’t grieve for the dead at all. I grieve for those of us left behind. And while I’m on the farm in Kentucky, my wife is in his apartment, reminded of his life - and that he is gone - with every step she takes. My heart has never ached for a person the way it aches for her right now. And for the kids. But they have her right now.

I know life is a mist. And my wife and I believe in Conditional Immortality and, to go further, If I find out after I die that the Universalists were right, I’d not be all that surprised.

If you’ve read to here, thank you. You may wonder why I’m “pouring my heart out” on a political forum. Well, the fact is, I’ve been here since 1997 (yes, the year my wife and I met) and outside of my church and family, this is the closest group of “friends” I have on the planet. I’ve met up with several members and expect to do so in the future. This site, for me, is very much like a family, like no other “virtual” place.

Thank you all for your prayers! It matters. A lot!

Now I gotta get to Chicago and bring things to my wife that are part of her daily life to help her center. Namely me and our fluffy white dog. 🙂