A dear friend of ours lost her battle with cancer today. Joyce was the mother of Kylee's best friend. I had only known her for about a year, when our girls met and started to hang out more. In just that year she went from walking, to a wheelchair, to bed ridden and finally to a hospice nurse. This brave, kind, amazing mother of 9 kids touched my life in ways she may never know. What I learned from Joyce and what I hope to implement into my life from today on are:
1. Life ends. It is unavoidable. But it does not end the joy and the happiness.
2. Give. Even if you don't have much, or don't know what to give...give. I had only known Joyce for a couple months when I received a card from her with a $20 gift certificate in it. Out of no where! Who was I to deserve this gift and this beautiful card, written in her shaky cursive handwriting. I was shocked that she had thought of me and given so freely to me.
3. Love. She loved her kids. I could see it her eyes, and the way she spoke about them. She loved her husband, she loved her life, she loved her catholic religion. You know those kind of people that you meet and they just love you from day one, even thought they hardly know you yet? She did that. That is an amazing gift.
4. Let go. Letting go is hard and it's scary and it's unfair. Joyce lived a month longer than she should have. She held on, but then let go when it was time. I was not there when she passed from this life, but I can only imagine her faith and courage as she said goodbye to her family and let go. There is so much in life that we need to let go of...to take our grasp away from and move on. In forgiving and moving on we create a tremendous amount of space for growth and goodness.
Thank you for teaching me these things and for being such a beautiful glimmer of true beauty and grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment