We are so honored to have Holly Barrett join us today in the Dance With Jesus Birthday Beach Bash Blog Tour.
Holly Barrett is a writer, speaker, minister, mother and YaYa from NC. She loves to connect others to Jesus so they can experience the joyous redemption found in Him. She has blogged for over six years at Reclaiming a Redeemed Life and is currently working on two books. An ordained minister, Holly currently serves in the ministry of a residential home for children from families in crisis. She has two adult children who are her best friends, one son-in-love who is a great support for his mother-in-law, and three grands that she adores above all else. Connect with Holly on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
The phone rang way too early. You know there is never good news when the phone rings before the sun is up. It was my mom’s voice, heavy with emotion, saying the words she never imagined hearing, let alone speaking. Her number one grandchild, my nephew, had died in a car crash. With three short words, our lives changed forever.
The following days were a mind numbing exercise in the surreal. I suppose your mind has to remain numb otherwise, nothing would get down. We rallied around my brother and sister-in-law to make decisions. We ate the food people graciously put in front of us. And in the quiet moments we sat and stared at one another, as if to remind ourselves that this was indeed real.
The following months were spent getting used to a new normal. We listened and cried. We carried on with the rhythm of family life. The holidays came and went. Then his birthday. Then the anniversary. A year had passed. And we all started to breath just a little easier.
It’s been 11 years now. They say that time heals all wounds. They say that things get easier. They say that we will move beyond. And some of that is true. The loss is never easier or healed or over. Our family changed forever on that day, and nothing will ever change it back.
Healing has come in unexpected ways though. We are closer as a family…bound by the business of death and the shared grief. We have chosen to make things easier…by speaking his name and remembering the good times, by acknowledging his presence in our family always.
But I’m going to tell you the one thing that helped more than anything. It was the people who showed up. The people who came running as soon as they heard the news. The people who tended to our every need in those first few days. The people who held our hands and our hearts as we faced decisions none of us were prepared to make. The people who wrote cards. The ones who called. The ones who listened. The ones who came to the services. The ones who stood shoulder to shoulder with us to bear the weight we couldn’t possibly bear.
God promises to turn our mourning into dancing. But I’m convinced that it’s His people that teach us the steps.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Just as folks who had walked the path of grief before us offered the most comfort, we have also been able to offer comfort to those who’ve come along behind us on the same path. Without that shared experience, our words can sometimes ring hollow. But when someone who has suffered the same loss reaches out, shares their heart, and offers to hold your tears…well, there is a truth in that which can only come from God.
And in that truth…one step at a time…we can learn to dance again.
Click HERE to read Holly’s review of Dance with Jesus and enter her giveaway to win your own copy!