When I stand before God at the end of my life,
I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say,
"I used everything You gave me."
~Erma Bombeck

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June 28, 2010

Monday Musings... Everyone Has a Story

Let me preface this with a quick synopsis of 2009:

March - I had to put my two kitties ages 14 and 15 down within 11 days of each other.

April - My maternal Grandmother passed away. A long failing heart finally gave in.

August - My Father-in-Law passed away. Rather sudden, he hadn't been feeling well, went into the hospital, was sent home 3 weeks later on hospice and passed away the night they brought him home.

September - I underwent major upper and lower jaw surgery to relieve me of years of sleep apnea.

October - My sweet Mama passed away after a long and painful battle with a body that just wouldn't cooperate and ovarian cancer.

I was tired from lack of sleep, crushed by the onslaught of death in my family.

About a week after Mama passed away, I went to church with my family. At the Catholic Church, in the middle of the mass the deacon and or priest will offer up Prayers of the Faithful. To which the parish will reply "Lord, hear our prayer" after each offer. Wait, let me back up... reminder, my mom lived and died in Arizona, only a scant handful of people here in Texas knew her.  I was standing with my husband when I heard the words "For those who have passed before us.... Barbara (leaving her last name out)". I was surprised her name had been said. Later I remembered that our sweet Deacon Chuck who had married us and baptized one of our daughters had been following it all through my friend Chris and on Facebook. I had to bury my face in my husband's chest so that I didn't cry out. But still, those around me heard. As we sat back down, I saw the woman next to me dab her eyes with a tissue.

As I sat in the church that day, I looked around at all the different people. Our church is big, like several masses a weekend, several thousand parishioners BIG. I thought to myself, everyone has a story. Miscarriage, divorce, infidelity, death, terminal illness and the list goes on and on. We don't know what those stories of other people are, but God does and when we ask for His comfort, peace and healing He is there, even when we feel like he isn't.  I have also learned through hindsight, He is there even when we don't cry out to Him and acknowledge it.... He is there.

Yesterday, I watched my little girls play at the neighborhood pool. At the beginning of this summer, Nikki dared not get her face wet. I watched as she jumped off the side holding my fingers and came up out of the water, hair wet and water streaming down her face with a big ole grin of excitement and then as she swam two feet to the steps, face in the water, unassisted and popped up with a big celebratory, "YES, I DID IT!"

I watched my girls spread their towels on lounge chairs and lay pointing at the sky, chattering in their little girl voices about the clouds and how quickly they were moving.

My heart was overcome with joy. Just months ago, I was overcome with grief and my body was so tired, I didn't even want to leave the comfort of my house. With time and God's love, my spirit is on the mend now and I have the energy to keep up with my sweet babies.

I ran across this video this morning. I have seen ones like it before. I was just reminded about my day at mass and how I looked around. Everyone has a story...


 

12 comments:

  1. What a moving video. It's good to hear you are feeling some peace and healing! Sometimes it takes a long time. Our babies certainly help out a lot though!

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  2. Thanks, God always seems to send you messages when you really need them. I desperately needed that. I'm very glad you are much better and able to enjoy the wonderful gifts you have!!

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  3. I always think of this phrase when dealing with people- you never know why people are the way that they are - they all have stories that I don't know.

    great video!

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  4. That was beautiful, Lanie. Reminds me of that Plato quote: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

    I think that's one of the reasons why the community aspect of church is so important. We minister so much to each other. God does some of His best work through each of us! :)

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  5. I loved reading this post so much. Despite the broken world we live in, God cares about us so much.

    xx
    Rebekka

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  6. Just found your blog. You definitely had a tough year. Praying that 2010 will be and has been much better!

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  7. What a beautiful video. I've seen others like it... I can't seem to get enough of them though. I cry every time I watch them. God really is so amazing!

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  8. I am very happy that you have found some healing. It really does take a while, doesn't it?

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  9. Really nice post! I needed to read it... my mom has had cancer for about 22 years and it's finally terminal, there are no words to describe my feelings so I won't try but I'm gad to read your posts, they give me hope that I will first survive, then later be okay to thrive.

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  10. Found you through Trendy Treehouse. Just wanted to say that 2009 was a terrible year for us as well. I lost my father on Oct.6 at just 48. I know it is tough to lose a parent. thanks for the post!

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  11. What a beautiful post! 2009 was also a rough year for my husband and I, and reading this is an encouragement!
    -Vanessa (The 31 Lady)

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