
Have you ever gotten so caught up in grief, you weren’t sure you’d ever find your way out? I surely have.
It was four months after my mom’s hit-me-like-a speeding-train sudden death. Even though I was pretending I had this grief thing under control, in reality I was stuck and had no idea how to dig myself out of the deep sorrow. A typical day would be spent at home, safe from awkward questions and embarrassing public tears. Anybody else been there?
One morning after the kids had left for school, I settled into my cozy chair and started to think about my mom.
What if I forget about her? What if my memory fades and I don’t remember the time she invited the entire Emory University Dental Fraternity to our house for Thanksgiving Dinner? I have no idea what the turkey tasted like that year… but do remember the holiday being most delectable!
What if I forget about the day she followed a speeding ambulance through rush hour Atlanta traffic – to beat the crowd to Hobby Lobby? Doesn’t everybody’s mom do that?
I start to write every sweet, embarrassing and hilarious story I could possibly recall. About two hours later I realized I hadn’t moved a muscle, except to write.
The coolest thing happened that morning. As decades of memories poured out on the spiral notebook pages~ I started to smile, and even laugh again through the tears. Tears of thankfulness for this rare and extraordinary woman I called Mom.
How about you?
I don’t know your story, but I do know that remembering the people we love is one of the most beautiful ways not only to honor them, but also to begin to heal.
Do you have a place you can go to write their story? You don’t need an expensive journal- a spiral notebook like mine will work just fine.
My prayer is that as you recall and write your good, bad and crazy ambulance-chasing Hobby Lobby stories, that you’ll begin to see sweet glimmers of healing.
God’s peace, my friends.
Please visit the Grief Survivor FaceBook to share a funny, sweet or memorable story about someone you’re missing right now.
Additionally, here are a couple YouVersion plans I created that will hopefully be encouraging for you. Grief Survivor and More than You can Handle