Moments with Mary

  During this week of offering thanks at the Thanksgiving table, give thanks to God for all your loved ones that were, all those here with you now, those who are unable to be there with you, and all those who will come.  When we give thanks, there will always be an element of mixed blessing.  There are feelings of deep sadness because of missing loved ones who aren’t there to share this time together.  That’s the harder parts of holidays because they remind us of special people we have lost or loved ones that can't be there to share this time together  Our thoughts evoke long ago memories of special times shared that can’t be relived and in some ways, seem lost.  But they aren’t lost.  They are forever seered into the very fabric of our being.  That is upside of the mixed blessing.  Those special times together really happened.  They are part of who you are and who you will always be.  Savor those precious memories as you make new a...

GPS Through Grief:  The grief journey is really about reestablishing your life and rediscovering a renewed you.  Rebuilding yourself without your loved one takes not only a lot of strength, it also takes a lot of guts.  You’re already living with anguish because you miss your loved one so much, while at the same time, you're trying to move forward by redefining and rediscovering who you are without them.  Behind the scenes, you don’t want your life to change, but are forced to live with the greatest change in your entire life.  Looking ahead without seeing your loved one in the picture is also very painful.  Then there is the challenge of freeing yourself from those tougher memories that harbored anger or regret or unfinished business complicates the process of moving forward on an already bumpy and unchartered road.  Feeling lost all the time is unnerving and scary.  There isn’t a mechanical GPS that can direct you on how to get through grief, bu...