The Day My World Stood Still

Have you ever watched the news or your Facebook feed and read about a tragedy and think that it would never happen to you? Well it happened to me.

Last Tuesday at 12:10pm, September 29, 2015, I received a phone call from my brother. I was in staff meeting and like any good person I ignored the call from my mom and my brother and texted them asking them what they needed. My brother quickly responded:

“It’s a family emergency CALL ME!”

I promptly called him, and heard him crying out (wailing loudly) on the other end telling me that they had found my brother-in-law unconscious in his office at work and that he was dead.

At first I did not believe what he was telling me. It was too surreal to believe. He was only 30 years old and in good health.

It took a few minutes for it to sink in. Then the reality of it all hit me like a ton of bricks.

My sister is 25 years old and is a stay-at-home mom. They have 3 precious baby boys. One who is 3 years old, the second 21 months, and their youngest is only 3 months old.

From this point on everything became a blur as I went home to tell my wife and rush over to love on my sister. Throughout this time, God was and IS good.

It is weird to say, but as we cry and weep over his death it really was not about him. Don’t get me wrong, we miss him greatly, but I feel more towards my sister and my nephews who will never personally know how great a man that their dad was. They will only know by what is told to them by others.

Patrick lived a life of integrity, a love for family, Christ, and country. He served as an officer of the state.

He loved mentoring young men. We would often talk about it during family gatherings. He had a lasting influence on these young men as he taught them about Christ and pursuing Him.

He was selfless in how he loved my sister and the boys.

One of my greatest memories of him was how he loved on my oldest son (and both my boys). Every time we would visit them, Patrick would always come out and help put the boys in the car and say goodbye.

Last week, prior to the funeral, we had to stop by Patrick’s house to pick up a few things. As we pulled out of the driveway, my son who is 2 years old, started to cry, “I want Pat Pat, I want Pat Pat.” It broke my heart as I know he will never see his Uncle Pat Pat again here on earth.

No words can be said that is adequate enough for how we feel or the love that we had towards this great man.

The world truly is a better place because of Patrick.

Going through this God has given our family and my sister, incredible peace.

In many ways we are jealous because Patrick doesn’t have to go through pain and trials anymore. I know for a fact that he is in heaven because of his relationship with Jesus Christ.

There is so much that I have learned, been challenged about and cried through this past week. Of which I will share with you in future posts coming soon.

I am weeping as I write to you.

Life is short – How are you living?

If you are not certain of where you will live eternity, PLEASE settle that today! We do not know what tomorrow will hold.

Here is a video of my sister sharing her story of God through this time.

Here is the video of his celebration service (this was the greatest funeral I have ever attended).

Check out my sister’s YouTube channel (Brittany Price) as other videos and testimonies are posted by those who Patrick influenced.

If this has blessed or challenged you, I would love to hear from you.

May God be praised through this!

If you are interested in ways to help my sister and her young family out, here are a few ways:

There are 3 ways to give, the first 2 options are preferable as there are no fees taken out of what Brittany receives! Please share and show your support. Thank you for all your love and prayers.

1. Go to any Wells Fargo Bank in the country and ask to make a deposit into the Patrick Price Memorial Fund.