Found a great new capsule-y post for the fall season! I found Audrey on Pinterest and have enjoyed reading her posts about making great clothing choices. I like her mix and match options on this post!
Two.
Last week, I sent a group of test readers a manuscript I'd written...a "book baby" to read. Scared me out of my mind. I think I screamed every time I hit send. So oh yes, I completely understand the utter emotion Jill-Lynn Buteyn describes in this post. {By the way - if you haven't yet seen her book baby Just Show Up, you're missing a powerful and helpful book.}
Three.
You know what? Not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all. Whether it is true or not, this just made me giggle.
Four.
I have not experienced the loss of a child, but I have experienced deep loss. And I think this article holds good reminders heading into Thanksgiving and Christmas. The coexistence of blessings and bereavement is delicate.
Five.
Speaking of holidays...if you're looking for some healthy {yet still tasty!} recipes for Thanksgiving this week, check out this recipe roundup by one of my favorites, Katie Farrell from Dashing Dish. Delicious looking dishes, I promise!
Six.
Earlier this year, I read Marie Monville's memoir, One Light Still Shines, and I've mentioned it here several times on the blog. Marie's husband, Charlie, was the shooter at the Amish Schoolhouse in Pennsylvania back in 2006. Marie's book was an unforgettable read, so when I saw a few weeks ago that Charlie's mom, Terri Roberts, also just released a book related to the event, I hoped I would be fortunate enough to get a copy to review. And I was!
Terri's book is called Forgiven, and it's quite a bit different in voice and in story, even, from Marie's book. That surprised me, because I figured when two people told the same sort of story, the details would be remarkably similar. While the story is certainly recognizable between the two, the similarities end there. Marie's book was much more about the event itself, her inner processing as a widow and how she moved forward with her life, mothering the children she and Charlie shared, and then even her redemption love story with her now-husband, Dan Monville. {POWERFUL.}
Terri's book, Forgiven, is unmistakably the story of a grieving mother who still lives without knowledge of why her son would choose such an unspeakable act. In this book, we learn more of Charlie's background, his upbringing, his joys and sorrows while he lived at home with his parents. And while she touches on "The Happening" {the name the Amish have given to the shooting}, she doesn't spend as much time recounting that particular day and week, but she moves on to how her life has changed because of The Happening.
She gives a voice to many of the Amish families affected in the shooting and shares about her interactions with them after The Happening. Her relationship with these families has actually grown to a deep level. She sees them often. She visits them. She helps them. She, in many ways, sees them as an extension of her family now. Her writing lets us see right inside the homes of these forever-changed families and lets us see forgiveness and grace in action.
Terri also brings up a really important point throughout the book, as she shows how storms she weathered earlier in her life {miscarriage, cancer, etc.} began to shape her faith in ways that came back to strengthen her in this storm of all storms. I think it's so important for believers to recognize how each piece of the journey fits into the large puzzle of life, and Terri pulls that practice into the spotlight in that book.
While she is not a counselor, she shares so many pieces of wisdom that could be helpful and insightful for anyone struggling through the loss of a child, especially one that was unexpected and surrounded by unanswered questions. She speaks as a mom...a grieving mom, a faith-filled mom, a searching mom, a hopeful mom.
I appreciated her vulnerability, her truth, and her heart within these pages. Though I know this story is never one she would have chosen to bear, she carries the weight of it in ways that point to the Lord and His grace, as shown through the compassion and love of the Amish community.
* Thanks, Bethany House, for making a way for Terri to share her viewpoint in this piece of history, and for sending a copy my way for review. *
9 comments:
Four tugged at my heart strings knowing a family in my school is going through this right now. So hard.
Happy Saturday!
I saw your post about that on FB - that broke my heart. How devastating!! I am so very sorry for them - and for all of you that it touched!
oh Bekah that power point idea is so so FUNNY! Mom's drnking... a definite no. LOL!! oh my gosh that should be a book idea right there. Thanks for making me smile (as always) today. :) XOXO
The article from The Onion cannot be real, right? I mean, the venn diagram of the family members' voting histories? How is that possible?? The article from the bereaved mother is a good reminder about grief and the holidays but some parts of it rubbed me, personally, the wrong way a little bit. I would guess 90% of adults sitting around a Thanksgiving table have experienced great loss/ grief in their lives. Living life while missing our gone loved ones terribly and having an attitude of gratitude, especially on one day of the year is possible. When she wrote, "Telling me to only focus on my blessings and not what’s missing this holiday season is like telling me to forget if I had lost all my limbs." I thought to myself, who says Thanksgiving is only about focusing on blessings? Did someone tell her that? She omits that part if it happened. Thanksgiving is about blessings but I've (and those with me on Thanksgiving) always acknowledged/ grieved the absence of loved ones in addition to expressing gratitude for that which I have. Maybe her loss is very recent? I don't know her story. I feel terrible for her loss. I feel terrible for the loss of my parents and knowing I'll never spend a holiday on earth with them. But, I can be thankful on Thanksgiving while acknowledging a hole that will never be filled.
Maria - Oh I'm sure the Onion article is not real, but the concept cracked me up. Probably too many holidays are spent figuring out what family drama to avoid discussing, right?
I knew the article from the grieving mom probably wouldn't speak to everyone, and I'm actually not one who goes to specific lengths to acknowledge losses, but I do remember the Thanksgiving when the only thing I was thankful for was the person I loved - who had just left. That was a hard year, and I couldn't see anything else because of the grief in front of me. While it was only that intense that one year, I know some people mourn heavily for many, many years. I always like to remind myself that not everyone moves forward in the same way, so it's good to be conscious of the grief of others, even if I would not handle it the same. Grief is so delicate. Hard to understand. :( And just sad. I miss my grandparents and the traditions and the gathering of our family that has not happened since their deaths {20 years now} - but I also know I can't bring back that unity that died with them, so I have to find ways to celebrate what I do have - which is pretty wonderful in its own way.
That was long. So sorry!!
Polly - I can only imagine what our family's list would say! LOL!!!!
Love the power point story. Write one for us!
Love the power point story. Write one for us!
Oh, there is so much good stuff to comment on for this Six. I loved the post by Jill about book babies and there are lessons in there for me a mother letting go of my babies. The Onion article made me laugh out loud, partly because it's so true! And thank you for the story of holidays and grieving -- it helps me remember to support my grieving friends where they are at, not at where I'd like them to be.
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