Tonight, I am struck by the feelings within my body. It is the 22nd of December. We gathered as a family tonight, and my siblings, mom, and I talked about how we woke up today, remembering it was 11 years ago today when life was still normal…or normal as we knew it.
It was 11 years ago today, the day before the day that changed our lives. On the 23rd of December, in the evening, we received a call that my oldest brother had been killed in a car accident.
All kinds of feelings and memories, grief and sorrow, go with that kind of experience. We know that 11 years later, there are tender spaces, but God has been faithful in so many gracious ways! But grief is a hard road that I will write about another time.
We will gather tomorrow as a family. We will miss Len and my Dad, who has been gone for five and a half years. We will always miss and remember them so often; their presence is felt, and their legacy lives on!
Be kind to the tender spaces your hearts hold in these days. They may be fresh and feel raw and unbearable. Perhaps time has passed, and you now can find joy in the sorrow, but either way, the thread of sorrow is tender, and it is okay to shed a tear while sharing a story or enjoy a memory that brings laughter as you recall joy!
We will miss Len and my Dad again this Christmas, and we hold the memories close! Take lots of pictures, give lots of grace, mend broken spaces, and love one another well. Cause sometimes one day will change your life!
