Tag Archives: #grief

Ebb and Flow

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I’ve been thinking about the ebb and flow of life. The highs and lows. When we feel like we’re being sucked out to sea in the #undertow, or when we’re riding high on the #waves. How many times have you prayed for life to just get boring, only to realize how uninteresting boring makes life? It’s the highs and lows of life that make it interesting. Those are what build our experience and #wisdom.

Don’t misunderstand, I don’t wish anyone to hit a low point. I don’t have to; it’s going to happen. What I do hope and pray for you is that when you’re in the whirl of the undertow, you have someone nearby who will reach in and grab you, or at least hand you a towel when you drag yourself out.

As with the coming and going of seasons. The winter is void of color, the wind blows cold, and the air pushes us back into our domicile as darkness falls too early. But spring comes, and brings color, and light, and the smell of new beginnings. By summer, the daylight is four to five hours longer than in winter.

I love summer – being outside. My favorite time of day is stepping out to the garden first thing in the morning. The morning sun reflects across the dew on the grass. The birds are busy chatting back and forth from the ash to the sycamore trees. The squirrels aren’t worried about traffic jams on what we call the squirrel highway – fence to arborvitae to ash without touching the ground. Many mornings I’m greeted by new blooms on the June flowers. It’s amazing to watch nature in action. Those moments I’m on top of the wave. Life is simple. It’s about being about the need to start a new day. As I face the rising sun, my prayer is always, Lord, I don’t know what today holds, but you do, and I know you’ll be with me.

It’s possible the wave I enjoy first thing could flatten out or come crashing down at some point in the hours of the day. That’s ok. I want to be part of the ebb and flow of nature, my friends and family, and those I encounter. In doing so, I’m building a full life. Never board. Always an adventure.

All the best,

KK

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. — Joshua 1:9

Tis the season

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Tis the season for raw emotion. This year, we unexpectedly lost a member of our family. We added another empty chair to the table. This loss brings a heightened awareness to the other empty chairs at the table this year. My mother, my father, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law. To really poke at the rawness, we attended a funeral this week for an elder mentor and friend. Why does all this loss seem to be a bigger shadow during the holidays?

It’s recent. The hurt is still very new. The heart-ache is still fresh.

Our schedules slow down enough that we have few distractions giving us time to be still in our #grief. Sometimes even in our busyness of the season we simply feel the feelings and are forced to take a breath, and let the “leaking” happen. We cry, remember, cherish in our heart, and keep moving forward.

There’s really nothing I can share here to make it better for my reader who is in the midst of navigating a new path, other than, I’ll come sit with you (even if only virtually) and we’ll feel the feelings together.

One thing I’ve learned in the multiple funerals I’ve attended over several years, our #journey on this earth, in our physical existence is about community. Living, doing life with, laughing and crying with a community of people – some will be family by blood, others are family by choice. We’re in this together. We were created for community.

My other thought is in the spiritual. When the soul leaves and we are left with only the vessel it lived in, where does the soul go? Whatever your answer to this question, are you 100% sure? Of all the questions you answer in life, this one has eternal consequences. And makes a huge difference in how we navigate life.

If I’ve stirred some questions, message me, I’ll be glad to have a conversation with you. If you’ve read more than a few of my posts, you know what I believe.

In the meantime, for those who have more empty chairs this year, please know that there is a community around you sitting in grief, feeling the feelings.

All the best,

KK