If there is one thing I have learned from being a principal, you are always 15 seconds away from a great day going bad….I guess that can be said in everything. Yesterday started off wonderful. Beautiful weather, martins flying, checked the boards, played outside, and then I came back to the boards.
That’s when I saw it. We lost one of us.
When I think of why we came to the boards that first time, initially, it was always about Christmas. The love of Christmas, at one point, had us our a journey looking for something, anything that we could find on the internet that would bring us closer to Christmas, whether it was in April or December. We just wanted to find a little Christmas….
But while Christmas brought us here, I think it’s safe to say it isn’t what keeps us here. What keeps us coming back, what keeps us checking this site multiple times a day, reading for hours on end….it’s the connections to others….the relationships….the friendships that we stumbled into while searching for that little bit of Christmas….
And the friendships become so much more….we talk about CAH’s and SIT’s bike rides, Binger’s love of coffee….we have listed to Jude grow up from Judesmom…I have gathered lessons from BradMac on how to be a Dad....we do Christmas in July with Made and Bing….we have watched Darlene Love together…we moved to different states together….we’ve lost jobs together, we’ve lost pets together…..we have lost family members together…
But now….well, now we have lost one of us….
And you know what….it makes me feel better knowing that we will do it…..
Together.
I want to share a little thought with you….it’s a Bible verse….it’s my favorite one to refer to in times like this….
The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, hallowed by thy name.
In CM3, we were given much. A friend, an uplifter, a caregiver, a smile, an encourager, a pet lover, we all had so many moments where she blessed us….we were given so much from her…..the way she talked to all of us….the way she cared for all of us…it was amazing.
Now, she has been taken from us. Simple human nature wants to know why. Why was she taken, why isn’t she still here? That’s a source of sadness for us (it’s ok to be sad) because we don’t have an answer for why she was taken. People tend to focus on the why.
So I challenge you…I challenge you to focus on why she was here….let that be your focus…remember all the good things that she did for you….all the funny things she said to you….all the compassion she gave to you…it’s brings a smile to your face….because in CM, the good so far outweighs any bad, the smiles will outweigh the sadness, and the love will outweigh hurt.
I’m thankful that my path crossed hers….and I’m thankful my path has crossed yours. Much love, Christmas family….