Saturday, March 31, 2012

I probably

shouldn't have left you hanging so long with that last one. It was rather heavy, wasn't it?

My bad.

I did attend Keri's funeral, and the pastor of NBBC spoke about the healing Jesus did at what was essentially a funeral, since Lazarus died before Jesus arrived to heal him. The thing I never caught about that story that the pastor pointed out was that Jesus wept with Lazarus's family - even with the full knowledge that He would heal Lazarus, and that not only would Lazarus have eternal life after the resurrection of all the dead but that he would live again on this earth after Jesus brought him back to life. It was just the message I needed to hear, and was a stark contrast to the typical celebratory Christian homegoing service. Though much mention was made of Keri's life here on Earth as well as her current rejoicing in the presence of Christ Himself, the appropriateness of grief at her passing was given a place as well - rather than just a passing mention.

Last week, I joined BFFJ in Dallas for her - ahem - 20-10th birthday, a session during which we each got a mockingjay tattoo, and a viewing of the just-released Hunger Games movie. (All of which were awesome, btw)

Since coming back from that weekend - which included both fun and work - I've had lots of balls in the air to juggle, and I may or may not have had a meltdown during an inappropriate time last week. With that in mind, I'd like to share with you some of the phrases I use when I need to give myself a pep talk. I find repeating each of these phrases in my mind is helpful when I start to feel overwhelmed.

  • Be quick to listen and slow to speak. (My cousin Candace reminded me of this just the other day - post meltdown. I could have used this advice beforehand, but I should appreciate it more now that I have a bad experience in my rearview.)
  • My children are a joy and privilege to raise, not a burden to be borne. (During the long days and weeks when their behavior is off for whatever reason, potty accidents are more numerous than potty successes, and naptimes seem to be silly things I once dreamed of rather than actually happened, I have to tell myself these words. And take a deep breath. And hug my children instead of yelling at them. And the truth is that so many women wish they could have children and cannot, and that even those who had children wish they had healthy ones, and even still others wish their children were half as well-behaved as mine sometimes are. It's all about perspective. And this particular phrase helps me to change out of my pity party pants and into my big girl pants.)
  • Freedom, beauty, truth, and love (What can I say? I may have learned this grouping of words from the Moulin Rouge , but when I think of this phrase, and the powerful symbolism of the mockingjay, I can't help but remember what it means when Paul says that it is for freedom Christ set us free.)

2 comments:

Rhonda said...

Pretty good words for all us mamas to remember:)Saw the tat....awesome!

Mrs. H said...

Q...LOVED this post! Miss ya friend!
Krystal