Unmet expectations, failed dreams, and loss of life and security are not new events. They are built into the human experience, and we can continue to live full, peace filled lives if we accept the reality of the now, embrace the mystery of why, and move forward each day.
We had come together, like so many times before, to mourn tragic and senseless loss. I stood there singing words I desperately wanted to be true. I wanted to believe that God loves us so.
James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. Why are we here? What is the point? Does life have meaning and value? These questions intrinsically reflect doubt. They implicitly challenge the notions that there is a reason for life and that each one of us is significant. […]
I stood in the entryway, and I told you he is gone.
I did that.
I know what happened when you left.
The reality of words.
I’ve been on the other side of the conversation.
It’s okay.
I cried too.
Not for him, but for you.
This is Kristi’s post. This is why I write; this is why my home and my world have been turned inside out for months upon months as we planned for a church; just this:
When I look into their faces as I read them the poem, I still see the young man (who was almost constantly in a cast of some sort) sitting in a middle school classroom. I see his energy and exuberance in their young and promising eyes, and my heart breaks again… and again… and again.
I share so much of my life with you all in this blog. I decided it was time for you to meet my husband and hear our story.
I had almost missed her soft whisper as I left her room: “Cover me, Mama.” The words gripped me as I pulled the blankets up to her chin. She gave me the words I have been trying to find to express the emotions stirring within me the past couple of weeks.
November is the month in between.
First it was the month that came before; then, it was the month that came after.
Yet, November is the month of thanks.
How do I say thank you for the blessing of broken? I am learning.
There is blessing in waiting for an ultra sound to indicate another child is lost; there is blessing in the graveyard spattered with names I love; and there is blessing in the moments of failure. These are blessings I have known in seasons very different from today. They are the blessings that have convinced me life is full of beauty.