August 1
A friend told me that I was keeping very busy, avoiding the grieving of my loss. She did the same after her husband passed but the grief will not be denied. It comes.
Yes, I am. This is the hardest thing I have ever faced. I awaken every day hoping the nightmare is over and Norm is already up, planning our next adventure. But he is off exploring all that heaven has to offer.
Not that all I’m doing to keep busy is bad…lunch with friends, golf with my nephews, trips with family…all good things and beneficial to my life moving forward. However, the electronic dopamine induced stupor from TV and gaming…not so beneficial.
We all grieve differently and on our own time tables. The process is challenging, sometimes frightening, and beyond our own ability. We need friends and family to walk beside us, to give us freedom to grieve and time to heal. But we also need that nudge that coaxes us out of our denial so that we don’t continue to dwell in an unhealthy hiding place, such as my electronic dopamine stupor.
I found a plaque the other day, and if I see it again I’ll get it. A quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Success is not in crops gathered but in seeds planted.”
There are small steps I can take, like removing a particularly time consuming game from my iPad, and setting up a workable schedule for writing.
He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. (Ecclesiastes 11:4–6, ESV)
Where’s the joy?
I am thankful for my family and friends who walk with me.
I pray that I will be faithful to take those steps which will allow me to heal and that I will be planting seeds of hope and encouragement.
I rejoice that God remains faithful and that He has not left me to walk this path alone.
Where’s the joy? It’s in the hope found in the people around me.
To those of you who are praying for me and encouraging me, thank you!
TRICIA LATHROP 