Life has been a bit difficult lately. I won't use this as a forum for whining though. I went to an event today that really opened my eyes to the fact that I have a VERY blessed life. The event was the "coming home celebration" of an acquaintance's 22 year old daughter who passed away last week after tremendous life struggles and a battle with cancer. This beautiful young lady leaves behind two gorgeous daughters ages 3 and 8 in the care of their loving grandparents.
Now, I have known the young lady's mother for years, but had never met the daughter; she had been a lost soul and not in her family's life except when she needed help with the care of the babies.
Upon moving back to the area, the acquaintance quickly filled me in on her life since the last time I'd seen her (it had been 8 years); part of her turmoil was her daughter being in drug rehabilitation for 18 months and leaving the kids with her. Thoughts of that moment have come rushing back to me after the service today and I don't like them. I was judgemental and uncaring and it is sad for me to say that I couldn't wait to get done with the conversation because it was "bringing me down".
Well, when I finally met this young lady when she had finished her rehab, I was amazed at the light I saw in her. She wanted to be a better person and a good role model for her two young children. I can only imagine the strength that girl had to come back with her head held high and a big smile on her face as if to say, "I'm back and I'm here to stay". And the brief times I was able to interact with her one on one...she was funny and had me laughing while we talked about our kids (my Caroline is about her littlest's age).
This whole situation has made me reflect on death, and I'm not afraid to die by any means, what saddens me deeply is the thought of those I will leave behind and how they will handle it. I'm amazed at the grace and peace with which this young lady's family is accepting the situation. My acquaintance has such a close relationship with Jesus, that she swears He is getting her through this time; her daughter has gone "Home" to be with the Holy Father and is finally at peace.
So... I will look a bit differently a the trials that are put before me and face them head on; I might conquer them or I might fail, but I refuse to wallow.
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13 comments:
Good Idea..... Sad story, I hope her kids grow up to know who their mom was and how much she loved them...
I agree with you - every once in a while some person comes into my life with problems so far beyond the problems that I think that I have - they usually exhibit such a will to overcome them that they teach me all over again what true courage and fortitude is in the face of such overwhelming problems and also they show me that my problems pale in comparison.
I'm sorry that your friend's daughter, after she was able to fight off those drugs, was then subjected to that terrible disease.... Your friend will need your friendship even more in the future.
It took me awhile to respond to this post as I had to think about it...I didn't want to come back with a quick flippant internet answer.
So, here goes...I think the hardest thing to squeeze out of your soul during times of duress is empathy for your fellow man. When your psyche is pushed to the max, whatever the stress may be...to be able to look beyond your own circle of life that may well be pushing you to the limits of what you think you can endure ~ well, that is where hope, or faith, lies.
So, just wanted to let you know I appreciate the thought behind this post...life is a journey isn't it?
Ha! Growing old is not for the faint of heart :)
One really good thing about aging is the recognition that we are getting wiser and our past experiences have taught us some very powerful lessons.
I think maybe I didn't express myself so well...what I was trying to convey is that your post moved me to think beyond my own issues. The world moves on whether my heart aches, or not. It is up to me to continue wearing my hairshirt, or to accept things and still allow some light into my life.
That's all.
Thank you for you kind words. You did great expressing yourself; the words "growing old" in your post sparked my added little revelation.
Well...I am growing old ya know
Lol :P
What's my name again?
Phew...had to fight my way through the cobwebs to get here...are you going to update soon?
Yeah what s the deal, you hibernating again>??
Just came over here to take a nap as it's so quiet.......
Hint hint.....
:P
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Hi Maureen
Nice to see you in the office today!!! I was just thinking, does your new punch needle say to seperate those to 3 strands? Mine always does but I thought maybe that particular one needs 6 for that loose weave fabric.
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