Tag Archives: love

Loved

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February 14 gets all the attention when it comes to love. No shade, but I’d argue that another day outshines Valentine’s Day for celebrating love. And not the fleeting kind, but the steadfast, love-you-even-if-you-act-a-pure-fool kind of love.

There’s a type of love that knows no end or beginning. Love that is secure, unchanging. A sacrificial love that doesn’t do one-ups, I-told-you-so’s, or you-owe-me’s. It’s pure and proven. And, best of all, it’s available to everyone.

God’s love, y’all. And, especially today on Easter Sunday, I’m reminded of how much He loves you and me.

Now, I love my fellow human beings as much as humanly possible. Buuuut, we all know how hard that can be. This world can be rough. Folks can be incredibly cruel and make us feel insignificant, uncertain, and alone. If I’m being honest (and I am), I cannot begin to imagine giving up any of my children, God-style, to save the rest of the world. It’s why I’m glad God is God, and not me.

So, any reminder that we’re all His children also comes with the reminder that we are all loved. A grace-filled two-fer. And Easter is the icing on the cake, the ultimate remembrance of how deep God’s love runs for each and every one of us.

So, take heart. Be encouraged. And know that today, of all days, is a day to remember you are so very loved.
xoxo

P.S. Click here for one of God’s love taps. (I don’t own the rights to this goodie … just sharing it.)

Still Here

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Dad slipped away quietly one year ago today. And, oh, how I miss him.

I remember that day in vivid detail. The steady rain. The chill in the air. How I knew he’d passed when hospice’s number appeared on my phone screen. How I let it go to voicemail because I was taking our teen to school, and my mama heart knows when to delay hard moments.

I hesitated before calling because I knew that, after 12 days of incredibly gentle and beautiful hospice care, Dad was gone. Calling hospice would – and did – make it all real.

In that moment, I felt so many emotions. I remember feeling heavy loss and sadness, but also humbled that I would be the one to see Dad and stay with him until the funeral home arrived to help us with next steps. I remember answering the kind hospice worker’s questions, pausing ever so often to hug another staff member at the memory care home who came to say goodbye to Dad and offer condolences. I remember being comforted by staff and comforting them, too. How I stroked Dad’s snow-white hair one last time and kissed his forehead.

I miss Dad and will always miss him. Yet, I’m very, very aware that he’s also still here, with us.

He’s with me every time I cook his sweet potato pie. He’s in my kindergartener’s mischief, my teen’s mathematical graphing with perfect lines, my daughter’s creative expression. He’s in the work my sister does so beautifully on behalf of schoolkids each day. He’s in every single one of his grandchildren’s smiles.

We all had to let go of Dad’s physical presence with us. Yet, these moments remind me that he lives on in all of us. That he’s still here. And that, even in missing Dad, he’s really not far away at all.

xoxo