Hello again!
It's been quite a while since my last post. Lots of things have happened since then. The Gala we were planning came quickly and was a huge success! We raised quite a bit of money to help pay for the retreat at Cragun's on March 7-10, 2013. That is so exciting. Rusty Meadows and David Mathews co-facilitators were able to attend the Gala. I enjoyed seeing them again. God has made many changes. They were able to speak at the Gala and share information about Spark of Life. David also spoke at River of Life Evangelical Free church while he was here. Many people have been in contact with them and are now attending the retreat in March. It's funny how life can be...
Spark of Life holds many retreats throughout the year, if you feel you need some help or know of someone who does, please don't hesitate. Contact them. Go to sparkoflife.org or call 501-230-3008. Even if it's just to get direction on what to do, they will help.
Bubba's name lives on. On September 26, 2012 Glen John Hunter was born to my nephew CJ and his wife Katie. I was blessed to be with them during the birth. CJ was out of range when Katie went into labor and they called me to help get her to the hospital. That was exciting in and of itself, since Katie didn't quite make it into the hospital when she delivered "Hallway Hannah". I am thankful that I was able to witness such an extraordinary thing called birth. (The only miracle we women get to help God with.) Amazingly beautiful is all I can say. And then for them to decide to name him Glen just made it that much better. I'll be honest, to hear people say Glen was and is hard at times but it is also nice to know his name will not be forgotten.
My biggest fear in life was that something bad would happen to one of my children, that fear came true. Now the fear is that people will forget him. Don't get me wrong, I know he won't be "forgotten" but life moves on without him and that is hard to swallow for me. My life is stuck on August 4, 2010 most days. Reality of his death still haunts me. I wake up some mornings and think he will be there, just to find out it's been a dream. Crazy I know. Just what my brain does though. I'm trying to work through it all. It's still hard. Spark of Life that I mentioned earlier in the post helped but it's still a daily struggle. People still don't know what to say to me or I'm just avoided. I guess that is something that I have to learn to accept. There is so much to say but how to put it in words, it isn't easy.
I guess I'll end with saying, people who have lost a child or a loved one don't have the plague, they have a broken heart. They want you to talk about their loved one (because it reminds us that people remember), they may tear up or they just might laugh. Don't avoid them, they've already lost someone, avoiding them means they have to go through another loss, their friends. Just remember that for you, everyday is the same but for people grieving, everyday is one day farther away from being able to hold, touch, smell, hear, kiss or tell them they love them. Not an easy road, especially if you feel alone while traveling it.
Dear God,
I ask that you bless all of the people who read this blog. Touch their lives in a dramatic way, that they will know with absolute confidence that it is You who is there. Please wrap your arms around those who are grieving. Give wisdom and compassion to the friends and family that surround them, to not run away from them but to run to them. Even if they just sit in silence with them and hold their hand Lord. Community keeps us going. Thank you for the many people who have touched my life and for David, Debbie, Rusty and Nancy of Spark of Life who are doing your work and helping those deal with the losses in life. Thank you for Evan and his beautiful smile and vivacious personality. I ask these things in your precious and holy name. Amen
Live the Dash!
LeAnne
It's been quite a while since my last post. Lots of things have happened since then. The Gala we were planning came quickly and was a huge success! We raised quite a bit of money to help pay for the retreat at Cragun's on March 7-10, 2013. That is so exciting. Rusty Meadows and David Mathews co-facilitators were able to attend the Gala. I enjoyed seeing them again. God has made many changes. They were able to speak at the Gala and share information about Spark of Life. David also spoke at River of Life Evangelical Free church while he was here. Many people have been in contact with them and are now attending the retreat in March. It's funny how life can be...
Spark of Life holds many retreats throughout the year, if you feel you need some help or know of someone who does, please don't hesitate. Contact them. Go to sparkoflife.org or call 501-230-3008. Even if it's just to get direction on what to do, they will help.
Bubba's name lives on. On September 26, 2012 Glen John Hunter was born to my nephew CJ and his wife Katie. I was blessed to be with them during the birth. CJ was out of range when Katie went into labor and they called me to help get her to the hospital. That was exciting in and of itself, since Katie didn't quite make it into the hospital when she delivered "Hallway Hannah". I am thankful that I was able to witness such an extraordinary thing called birth. (The only miracle we women get to help God with.) Amazingly beautiful is all I can say. And then for them to decide to name him Glen just made it that much better. I'll be honest, to hear people say Glen was and is hard at times but it is also nice to know his name will not be forgotten.
My biggest fear in life was that something bad would happen to one of my children, that fear came true. Now the fear is that people will forget him. Don't get me wrong, I know he won't be "forgotten" but life moves on without him and that is hard to swallow for me. My life is stuck on August 4, 2010 most days. Reality of his death still haunts me. I wake up some mornings and think he will be there, just to find out it's been a dream. Crazy I know. Just what my brain does though. I'm trying to work through it all. It's still hard. Spark of Life that I mentioned earlier in the post helped but it's still a daily struggle. People still don't know what to say to me or I'm just avoided. I guess that is something that I have to learn to accept. There is so much to say but how to put it in words, it isn't easy.
I guess I'll end with saying, people who have lost a child or a loved one don't have the plague, they have a broken heart. They want you to talk about their loved one (because it reminds us that people remember), they may tear up or they just might laugh. Don't avoid them, they've already lost someone, avoiding them means they have to go through another loss, their friends. Just remember that for you, everyday is the same but for people grieving, everyday is one day farther away from being able to hold, touch, smell, hear, kiss or tell them they love them. Not an easy road, especially if you feel alone while traveling it.
Dear God,
I ask that you bless all of the people who read this blog. Touch their lives in a dramatic way, that they will know with absolute confidence that it is You who is there. Please wrap your arms around those who are grieving. Give wisdom and compassion to the friends and family that surround them, to not run away from them but to run to them. Even if they just sit in silence with them and hold their hand Lord. Community keeps us going. Thank you for the many people who have touched my life and for David, Debbie, Rusty and Nancy of Spark of Life who are doing your work and helping those deal with the losses in life. Thank you for Evan and his beautiful smile and vivacious personality. I ask these things in your precious and holy name. Amen
Live the Dash!
LeAnne
