Move Forward
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.—Philippians 3:13 (NIV)
Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll—are they not in your record?—PSALM 56:8 (NIV)
I continued on my brisk three-mile walk and wiped away tears as quickly as they fell. I tried to focus on the music flowing through my headphones but my memories were louder. My thoughts floated back to my mom, whom I’d lost over two decades ago. I thought about the beauty of her olive skin and the contrast to my own deeper brown.
The tears flowed as I remembered several losses I’d experienced over the years. Losses of parents and in-laws, and most recently my dog, Beethoven.
I’ve learned as a caregiver that loss brings about change in my “normal” routine. I’ve given myself permission to grieve not only the loss of a loved one, but the changes it brings to my life. Sometimes the changes are the hardest part for me to deal with.
After I finished my walk, I took a few minutes to look at my favorite picture of Mom and me. I smiled, and whispered, “I love you.”
I rested my hand on the back of the chair where Beethoven had spent most of his days while I worked. I brushed my fingertips across the seat cushion where he’d rested. “I miss you, dear friend,” I said.
My tears had stopped…for now, anyway. I took a deep breath before getting ready for my day.
Father, help me to move gracefully through the changes in my life that loss brings.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.—Philippians 3:13 (NIV)
So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.—Genesis 1:21 (NIV)
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.—Colossians 3:23 (ESV)