Grief … Part 243

Grief has so many aspects; sometimes, it’s just hard to keep up.

And when death has hit three years straight, the emotional roller coaster is full of surprises.

Today, it’s just hard.

And heartbreaking.

And enraging.

Hard because there’s so many shattered pieces, and nothing can be mended.

Heartbreaking because there’s so much lost, and nothing can be reconciled.

Enraging because there’s so much stolen, and nothing can be returned.

If perspectives remain only on the loss, the heart becomes sick, and the soul becomes hopeless.

Despair will settle in like a long and bitter cold rain.

But hope remains.

The only Hope that can be grasped.

Eternity is not bound in this day and time.

Destiny is not restrained by this hour and by the ticking of the clock.

Mortality is not for the Everlasting One nor for those who serve Him.

So, look up not down.

Look forward not behind.

The minutes are coming faster and soon will end and then,

True life will just begin again.

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

1 Corinthians 15:51-55

The Loves of My Life

Who do you spend the most time with?

I spend the majority of my time with the loves of my life: my husband and our two sons.

We have the most fun together, either all together, individually, or even broken up into pairs.

We love to travel, or hike, or to take a road trip, or take a walk, or go shopping, or find a great restaurant, or maybe just sit for a spell, telling stories, pondering the mysteries of God, comparing notes on the Lord of the Rings, or simply hanging out doing nothing at all.

Just being together is what counts. And although, each of us are so very different from the other, we’ve always been a very tight knit family. But as they grow, those days are coming to change very soon.

And my heart gets a bit sad every time I think about it.

Yet, I know it is meant to be, and I know it’s bittersweet.

It is meant to be because every parent wants their child to always be moving forward in life, never crippled, never wounded, or just stuck in one phase.

It is meant to be because every parent wants to see their children flourish, succeed, and fly like an eagle into their adult life, learning, growing and soaring into his own.

It is exciting because we want them to be strong men, independent, and confident in who they each are called to be. We raised them this way, and they are boldly approaching the goal.

It is exciting because we want to see them explore and experience all the thrills, all the joys, we once did and so much more.

It is bittersweet because I know as these days draw closer, they will fly; they will flourish, and one day, they will find the girl of their dreams. Then, they will begin their own families, their own lives.

It is bittersweet because this mama’s heart will miss them so and long for one more hug, another spontaneous, late night chat, an unexpected trip to the store “just to get a few things” and have some extra individual time together.

It is heartwarming because as you realize they’ve got what it takes to make it, and not just to survive but to thrive, you realize they really did hear you. They really did receive.

It is heartwarming because you know the two of you, husband and wife, now will have a rediscovery of each other. You’ll have opportunities for time renewed that has been shared for decades, and now, it’s just the two of you.

Yes, it is meant to be, and it is bittersweet.

And yet, it is both exciting and heartwarming.

Change is coming, and it’s coming so fast.

It will be upon us before I am truly ready.

So for now, I will be present in the moment.

I will cherish the past and look expectantly toward the future.

But I will continue to savor my overspent time with my loves right here, right now.

And I will continue spending my most valuable moments with the loves of my life.

For this is where I long to be most, second only to being by my Savior’s side. But that story will be saved for another day’s writing…

Right now, I’m going to get back to where I love to spend most of my time…❤️

Silly Saturday

Funny Friday

Coming Home

Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?

My two favorite books from my childhood were Homecoming and Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt. I had to choose two because these are a set, and well. I’m a bit indecisive.

These books captured my attention and took me away into a heartwarming, albeit sometimes heartbreaking, story about family.

Dicey is the main protagonist , and she is a beautiful young girl, not necessarily in appearance but rather in spirit. She and her three siblings are abandoned in a mall parking lot in Connecticut by their mother who has simply gone insane, and the novels follow the journey of their survival on foot and their surprise arrival at their grandmother’s rundown farm in Maryland.

I became lost in Dicey’s world, imagining I was a mixture of her spunk and tenacity along with a bit loner but very smart personality of her oldest younger brother. I loved every minute of these novels and even picked them up a few more times before the end of my school days.

Even as I reread some of the plot tonight to refresh my memory from all those many moons ago, I noticed there’s another several in the set. I may just have to pick a few back up and read a while…

A sweet and pretty realistic series to be enjoyed by one and all. If you’ve got some time over the summer and want to enjoy a little young adult reading, take a minute to check it out. You might just like it.

Be the Light in the Darkness

Refuse the dark.

Fight against the dim.

Resist to blow out the match.

Keep the light shining into the darkness.

Keep the torch burning, thrice if you have to.

Never surrender.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:5

Your Tribe

There’s not a whole lot to add to this statement.

Just know your tribe and embrace them.

You may not all be exactly the same,

But if you’re going in the same direction,

And your focus is similar,

And your destination is the same,

You will get there together,

And you’ll be stronger and better for it.

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Philippians 1:1-2

Be The Light

Someone shared a great thought with me this other day, and I thought I’d pass it along.

Maybe it will be one you’ll come back to throughout the week…

If we, as Christians, are the light, and we have the Light shining through us, then, we are much like a flashlight shining into a darkened place.

In a darkened space where there is no other light, when you are holding the flashlight,

You can see the light.

But you can also see the darkness all around you.

All of it.

When you are holding the light, you don’t see the light as brightly as when you are standing in front of the light.

When you’re standing in front of the light, it can almost blind you,

Nothing is hidden.

So, keep shining even when it feels the darkness is crowding in around you.

The Light within you cannot be snuffed out unless you turn it out.

The Light within you will shine brightly no matter who or what attempts to destroy it.

The Light within you is eternal and has eternal impact on all who see it.

Keep shining the light even when all you see is utter darkness with the tiniest light.

Keep shining.

Be the Light to a darkened world.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:4-5 NKJV

In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:4-5 NIV

Silly Saturday

Funny Friday