Good to Know....

I got online tonight to check my email on Yahoo and found an article about "grieving rituals" on my home page. I thought it was interesting. There were examples of various people and the ways they grieve. Some wear their loved ones clothes, some plant gardens, some sleep in the bed in which the loved one slept, others leave their loved one's cell phone in service just to call and get their voicemail and hear their voice. I haven't really found a "ritual"...that sounds so....well....freaky. I guess everyone's grief is different, but sometimes I just need to be reminded that what I feel/think is normal....that it's something everyone else feels under similar circumstance. I had expectations for what it might look like for me and our family, but experiencing it is something altogether different. I'm grateful for the people I've met who have been through the death of a loved one and for their gentle reminders that the hurt doesn't go away, but that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted. Somehow, because of his concern for our hearts, we are sustained.

It has been amazing to be on the receiving end of the outpouring of love, after having lost mom. There are so many things about her I didn't know....things she did to make others' lives better. I wonder how I missed knowing those things about her. How is it that we (I) get wrapped up in our own lives that we fail to know or see the gifts our loved ones are to others? I'm thankful for those memories of mom that are new to me through the eyes of the people she touched.

I continue to be blessed through this process.....daily.