“I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as
a flower, a tiny sliver of one hour. I dropped it carelessly, Ah! I didn't
know, I held opportunity.”
~Hazel Lee
~Hazel Lee
“In
the twinkling of an eye…..” Aaahhhh…….I’ve
held many moments in my hands and they have seemingly slipped by. It is one thing to dwell on the past, however,
it’s important to not let those who have gone on be forgotten. Never forget.
It truly is more than just a common slogan. Choosing to remember those that have traveled
from one life to another. Holding
on. Letting go. We need to do a little of both……and both are
equally difficult to do.
I’m rambling all
over the place tonight and choosing not to really edit this….so bear with
me! I have been known by my friends to
be somewhat of a pack rat….a hoarder.
No, not to the extent I need to go on a television show for an
intervention, but there is something about each thing that has come into my
possession. They are linked to those who gave it to me, or used those things at
one time. A time that might have seemed
simpler, yet really wasn’t.
I’ve said ‘so long’
to many friends and family along these 39 years of mine. Instead of burying the memories of long ago,
I let them linger in my every day life.
It is a fine line between continuously grieving and honoring one’s life. A reminder of the brevity of life, this
wondrous gift we’ve been given on this earth for only a certain amount of
time.
I guess I am particularly nostalgic
today because it is a day a small friend should have been celebrating his
birthday. He hasn’t had a birthday on
this earth since 2005 because someone took his life in the summer of 2006. Those who knew him, knew his smile and his
zest for life…and FOOD! He loved to
eat! His life goes on in another world,
but I miss him being here with us. It’s
a reminder we need to love and cherish those around us as much as we can while we
still have the opportunity. Life is
short. And yet…..it never ends. I’m thankful my heart is safe in my Creator’s
hands. I’m thankful He is patient as I
struggle with the Why’s. I’m thankful He
is big enough to handle my sorrows. I’m
thankful this little guy is sitting in His lap tonight celebrating his birthday
in Heaven. I’m thankful life goes on and I will be reunited with those that
have passed on.
Christmas is a time that is often
difficult to get through for many of us, including myself. Celebrating my Lord’s birth gets wound and
tangled in the web of the memories and the pain….pain in losing my sister many
years ago, a time for others to remember their loved ones that are no longer
able to grace us with their physical presence.
It’s ok to remember…but not to get stuck in the pain. So, we move on….yet we hold on….and choose to
remember and be inspired by those who made a difference in our lives. And
who’s made the biggest difference in my life?
Jesus. He not only passed through
this life, he died, and he rose again, never to die again. That is the hope I live with. He helps me go on. He can help you too. You never get ‘over’ these things. But, with His help, He helps you move through
them. It’s a process.
So, it’s not necessarily holding on
to the past, but it is choosing to remember those that shared our lives for a
mere breadth of a second. Acknowledging
they made an impact, and they were loved.
Let them still teach us today. If
you listen closely, you can still hear them.
Don’t shut them out, don’t pretend they never existed, just to shield
yourself from the pain. Open the flood
gates, and if you cry, you cry. It means
you’re alive. Embrace it.
“There is a beautiful
transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend
to be anything but who they are.”
~ Brennan Manning
