Tell People What They Mean to You.
I'm gonna say that again in case you didn't hear it.
Tell People What They Mean to You.
Tell People what you need to say. Never let "I never did tell them...." be something you have to think or say. Never let "They never knew" be a part of your vocabulary.
And always always listen when God tells you need to send a card or make a phone call.
I've always known this a little. But having someone suddenly ripped out of your life makes you KNOW this on a whole different level.
Things I need to tell people:
I need to tell Millie that I think she WAS a good mom to Neal.
I need to tell my Dad I love him more.
I need to tell me kids more how unconditional my love for them is.
I need to tell Neal more how proud I am of how hard he works for us.
I need to tell RWR how hard I prayed for him when he was helping the two families make decisions about burial plans. He diffused a lot of tension I think and I was sooooo proud and grateful and thankful for his Godly man-ness in that situation.
I need to tell April how much her walking through my grief with me has blessed me. Its not fair she has had to carry so much...but she does anyway.
I need to tell Neal how afraid I am that I will lose him in my grief.
I need to keep telling the Lord how much I need him to be sufficient for me.
I did get to tell Kim I loved her. There are NO words to describe this.
I want to scream this from the street corners. Love your families, share in small group, be open with your friends, unveil your hearts to the Lord.
Live so that if you were told you only had 3 months to live...you'd only be repeating yourself in the calls, letters, and notes you'd want to make.
I'm really excited at how our family came together through all of this. We turned a corner, I think, in learning how to support and love and respect each other. I'm looking forward to that continuing.
ReplyDelete"And always always listen when God tells you need to send a card or make a phone call."
ReplyDeleteThis really resonates with me b/c I kept thinking that I needed to call Kim the entire week before their trip. And I didn't. And now I can't.
Jayme, speaking from experience, you will never be the same after this experience. My regret is that I did not do more to make my sister in law know she was loved...You got to do that...now You will be forever changed. You will never let a day go by without helping someone or being more compassionate. You will be more like Jesus. The pain gets better, and the longing for heaven gets more intense. But you will realize that no matter what God is with you,and He will not give you up.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being so honest in your grief and your lessons learned. You might be surprised at how many people have been affected by the events in your family. Or you might not. God is so big and so powerful.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Sally has you for a sister!