It’s been quite some time since I blogged. I realized that I have been waiting to get out of the “valley” so I could tell you all about it in part two. But here’s the deal, I’m still there and likely, you might be also. So what can we do? I shared last time about the story of King Jehoshaphat and and all the families of Israel crying out to God in prayer to save them when they were up against a mighty army. I’m going to share the second part of that story today.
Valley of Blessing Part 1
On March 17th, our county was issued a Shelter in Place order due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that Karimy, Alec and I would be forced to stay inside except for essential business and outside exercise. Toilet paper, masks and hand sanitizer shortages added to the panic and
How should I be?
The one year anniversary of Craig’s death is just around the corner…days away, actually. The gravity of this weighs on my heart just about every minute of the day. Christmas and then bam! There it is, the day
Everything I Need
I “lost” my journal somehow in my move and made an entry in my other one…which I have mostly been keeping as a “To Do” journal. I’ve kept all the funeral arrangements, lists of people to thank, etc. in that one. I had totally forgotten that my real journal was in my new pencil case that Craig gave me for Christmas. My brain is functioning so poorly these days. I think that has been the most frustrating thing for me-not being able to remember important things, forgetting things, LOSING things, getting lost in the middle of a conversation with someone, etc.
Pieces of My Heart
My mom is a beautiful seamstress. When I was young she used to make me little smocked dresses and even tiny clothes for my dolls. When I was about four years old, she bought a plain pair of jeans and embroidered all kinds of cool things on them. I remember her letting me pick out what I wanted on my jeans and I chose things that were beautiful like butterflies and things that were special like a pair of glasses which reminded me of my daddy. I still remember my mom working so long and so hard on those jeans and I couldn’t wait for them to be finished so I could wear them! (It was the 70’s so no doubt they were totally in style and bell bottom!) Of course my mom had other responsibilities that went along with being a mom of 4 children and my dad worked long hours at Cook County Jail as a Chaplain. My mom tells me that when she finally finished the jeans
Moving On or Moving Forward?
Is there a difference between moving on and moving forward? I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately after a friend emailed me. But the more I think about it the more I see a vast difference.
According to macmillandictionary.com moving on means to “stop discussing or doing something and begin discussing or doing something different.” To me this involves forgetting, leaving behind, and wilfully doing things differently. The kids and I will never “move on” from Craig. He will always be a huge part of our life and we will keep him alive as we talk about him, remember the things he taught us and cherish our memories of being loved by him.
In contrast the dictionary defines moving forward as “to begin doing something in order to achieve a goal or solve a problem.” “Moving forward” is then what we need to do as a family. This involves
Expiration Dates*
I’ve never liked expiration dates on my food. They seem to creep up on me and I so dislike throwing great food out just because I didn’t have time to finish it! This happens to me with my Greek Yogurt and the kids milk and it just feels like such a waste.
Someone told me recently that it’s kinda like we all have an expiration date on our forehead. We are walking around