As these last couple of weeks have unfolded, I pondered on the events that happened and the line from P.S. I Love You comes to mind..."when life as you know it ends." In the movie, it's talking about falling in love. For me, these last few weeks, it has come to mean something different.
A couple of weeks ago I went to a scrapbook conference as a "table helper". I was one of those 'Vanna White's', going around the row with the finished project, helping the attendees as needed, etc. The owner puts a lot of work into planning this event- getting a celebrity speaker, planning projects, door prizes, detail planning, working with vendors, etc. Friday night as we were setting up for the conference the next morning, we learned of our first setback: the celebrity speaker, Melody Ross, had to cancel at the last minute because her daughter injured her foot pretty badly. She needed to be a mother and stay home with her. Totally understandable. We all left around midnight to get some sleep and be back bright and early in the morning. The next morning, we table helpers found out that the owner had a very rough night. Shortly after she went to bed, her best friend called her and hysterically informed them that she had found her own 14 year old son, dead, in his room. He had killed himself. The owner had been friends with the mother since their boys were two. The owners own sons (twin boys) didn't know about the news yet since her and her husband left before the boys woke up. She carried out the responsibilities as the host of the conference, already having to deal with the loss of a main speaker. So she filled up that time with sharing feelings of importance of families, taking the time to scrapbook/journal the memories as they happen because LIFE IS SO PRECIOUS! We all experience things in life and for some of us, we experience something so life changing (such as losing a friend to suicide) that "life as you know it ends."
On my way home from the conference, I was reflecting on the things that happened and how it would affect the lives of those involved. I realized that they will not look at life the same way again- they had lost a certain innocence. Eric had also informed me that while we were both out of town (Eric went camping with the kids- out of cell phone range, I went to Idaho Falls), we received a call from the Department of Health and Welfare to place a child in our home. Since neither of us were home to receive the call, the child was placed in another home. All I could think about was for that child, "life as he knows it, ended." He was removed from his home and sent to live (temporarily) with a family he doesn't even know. My heart broke for that child- just thinking about the changes and adjustments he has to go through now because of his life experiences.
Sometimes we face challenges that are so profound and life-altering. We put all our focus, energy and strength into getting through that trial. We rely on our Heavenly Father to get us through the storm. Hopefully, through all the "molding and changing," we come out better for having endured that trial.
I saw a quote today I wanted to share: "Life isn't about getting through the storm but how to dance in the rain." This was a bit of an eye opener for me. I realized that instead of getting stressed and being narrow-focused on the trials that are going on in our lives, I should step back and see all the things that I have to be grateful for: my husband, 3 children, a job to provide for my family and shelter over my head. How grateful I am for those things!
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing this group of experiences. It is interesting, from an outside perspective, to notice such changes in life. Some are huge changes, some are small, some are inconsequential. But they are still all changes. And usually those involved are still all effected in one way or another, good or bad.
I gave a lesson just this past week in YW about Optimism and living in a world amid evil influences. What an appropriate quote because it is definitely something that we all need to learn about. One thing that I said over and over again on Sunday is that we can choose to either ACT in situations or be ACTED UPON (from 2 Nephi 4, I think). And learning how to dance in the rain is definitely a decision to ACT versus becoming a victim of the rain...
Very sweet and touching. We are all in our own stages of "Life as you know it" and each chapter has different challenges. Thanks for sharing this very real, very sobering reality Maybe our own problems are "just a little rain" to enjoy! XOXO Mom
I recently had an experience similar to yours. A very close friend of mine lost her one-year-old in a household accident. It's something you think will never happen to someone you know. It sure changed my perspective and reminded me how precious my children are. I've never wanted to snuggle them more than that week I learned of his death. The other thing I learned from watching my friends is that the power of the atonement is real and it works miracles in the lives of those who know how to access it. I'm not sure how you would even attempt to get through an experience such as that without it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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