Tuesday, November 11, 2008

A Good Sad Thing

A little while back I stumbled upon a family's blog who had lost their only daughter a few months before. Lucy was nearly 2, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She choked on a small piece of apple on the way home from church. (You may know about this from the news. They live in the Park City area.) It was so touching and devastating to see,through their blog, how these parents were dealing with their loss. I can't help but think about what it would be like to lose Sarah. Every post I have read on their site I have cryed through. The crying has been good though. I feel like I am crying for someone else's pain rather than my own. It is inspiring to see how they are turning to God at a time like this.

So, I wanted to add their site to my sidebar and point you to one post in particular. It is titled "The Anatomy of Our Troubles". Click on the title and read it. I love the whole thing, but especially when she talks about sharing our weaknesses. She says "Does this mean we go around being negative and only speaking of our weaknesses? No. It's about honesty. And openness. It's about being real. Including celebrating our blessings. We may be making someone feel unnecessarily isolated because we choose not to share our weaknesses in appropriate ways. We may be causing our fellow sisters or brothers to feel even MORE weak, when we turn away from their pain and show them only our "best selves". "

I would love to sit down and cry with her.

I struggled with a whole bunch of loneliness and isolation of sorts when the boys were little. When I started feeling better I felt like I could help other moms in similar situations. Not every mom has the same challenges that I did, but some do. I think that finding out that you're not the only one who's struggling can be reassuring.

4 comments:

Lora said...

I'm glad you posted that site. I'd like to check it out when I have a little more time. I can tell I'm your biggest freak-blogging buddy because I'm ALWAYS the first person to post a comment. (Maybe I need to occupy my time in other ways, eh?)

Anyway, back to your post---I don't really understand why it helps to know that others struggle with the same types of issues as I do, but for some reason it does. Or even to just know that I'm not the only one who struggles period. Do you think men need that as much as women seem to? Do you think it's just hard for them to admit & to reach out, or do things just not affect them in the same ways?

Malisa said...

It's not hard to be the first one to post on my blog.

I think the post I linked to helps explain why knowing of other's stuggles helps us. And yes, I do think men need it too in their own way. However, cats and dogs are not the same.

emily, etc, etc said...

Oh, that is so sad! Like you said, I could never imagine losing my child. I may have told you once about my good friend whose baby dies of SIDS shortly after Adam was born. I was amazed with how well she coped with it! She told me once that she was surprised at how she was able to rise up and be so strong. She said that the alternative was locking herself ina closet and letting the world melt away and she knew she couldn't do that. I remember being so inspired by her - she had such faith. Anyway, what you say is true, it is nice knowing that people struggle just like us. But the part I like the best is knowing that there is a way out of the struggle and by seeing others overcome it is so uplifting!

MaMa eNCHaNTeD said...

I am laughing out loud....bah ha ha haaaa breathe bah ha ha... That is sooo funny you put a link to my dresser. That is very flattering. Please don't give up on blogging, I love to read what you have to say. You have a very deep, and raw way of writing that I love. Thank you for taking your time and putting your heart and your frustrations that we all secretly feel and are afraid to write about it or don't know how to eloquently express ourselves quite right. I know of your feelings of loneliness. you helped me through some at USU. you were such a great friend, and I loved that you would just come over and say hi. It meant more than I can say. I miss that friendship. Luckily i have a friend here that is close to our friendship, a sisterhood is more like it. Sorry I am rambling without the right punctuation that probably reeeeallly bothers you. I don't know. Anyways, I love you tons.