21 October






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to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Many years ago I had a friend who died of breast cancer.

She was 36 and she had 4 young children.

All through that Autumn season she lay dying.

I remember thinking that when the last of the leaves were gone, so would she be.

Of course, I had known death before.

My own father died when I was 18, and my grandparents,

and people in high-school who had died suddenly and tragically.

She was the first person who was really my friend, who was my age,

who was doing the same things I was doing, who could have been me.

My heart broke for what she missed.

Sometimes I think the leaves that fall in this season are like tears

By the time Thanksgiving rolls around they have all fallen

and we've gotten on with the business of living

our hearts are stirred with how incredibly blessed we are

to know love, and to have such love

and then Christmas comes and we dance and dance.

It has been a year filled with death for us.

We have lost 5 of our family and friends just in the past 3 months.

Also, we have been to the memorial services for the fathers of 3 old friends.


This morning Joe said now that we are on the other side of 50

we begin to see the world of the young...and we are not in it...and they do not want us in it.

That is good with me.

They have their own world and I do not belong there.

I am not quite in the world of the very old yet so I suppose I am bracing the middle...

I have never been one for looking back with regrets.

Certainly, there are things I should have done differently

but when I consider the incredible beauty of my surroundings

and the love of my family and friends

my heart dances

Comments

  1. Denise21 October 2015 at 07:49

    I pray that your heart continues to dance my friend, love you

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous21 October 2015 at 08:20

    I am so sorry for your losses- How hard to have so many all at once- Thank you for you beautiful words and thoughts here- visiting from Holley's

    ReplyDelete
  3. Linda Stoll21 October 2015 at 08:55

    yes, death has knocked on our family's door 2x this year, my dad and my littlest grandchild within 2 months. when all is said and done, I have to trust that God knows the end from the beginning and His timing is never off.

    but I grieve all the same ... and accept the comfort He gives.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 21 Wits21 October 2015 at 09:26

    A lovely way to life as it is, keep dancing, and dancing and dance some more! God bless you all and the families that lost loved ones.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brenda @ Its A Beautiful Life21 October 2015 at 15:05

    I've been feeling more and more at home in my own generation too. I'm so glad you are able to keep dancing in spite of the hard things and sorrows that life and death have brought into your life.

    Wishing you grace for the journey,
    Brenda
    xox

    ReplyDelete
  6. Christine21 October 2015 at 17:22

    Sincere sympathies for your losses these past few months. But you are right too, we are still with the living and must go on living in the present for we are blessed in this life.
    Best wishes and thanks for helping me focus on what's good and important.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sue22 October 2015 at 16:21

    This post touched me deeply, Kara. Autumn is perhaps my favorite season, but it is bittersweet for me, too, tinged with the melancholy of letting go of the bright months and long days of summer.

    I am so sorry for all you have lost in recent months. I'm so glad that your heart still dances.

    ReplyDelete

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