From Dishes to Snow was written in 2013/2014, before I had any true experience with grief. It was prayed over every writing day, in the hopes that the story would be a help or an encouragement to someone, to anyone. The grief part, the stages the main character experienced, was written out of my imagination – what I imagined to be those feelings.
For anyone who truly knows me, or even knows me a little, probably has some idea of how I feel about my grandparents, which were the inspiration for two of the book’s characters. I have been blessed with three incredible grandparents with an amazing love for the Lord. And even more, I’ve been blessed with them far longer than I’d ever hoped. Going into how much they mean to me, the examples they set and how unbelievably they are loved is for another blog entry, hopefully one day soon. But you get the idea.
In mid 2015, one of my grandmothers went home to Jesus. Two weeks ago, Jesus welcomed my grandfather into Heaven. I am learning that grief comes in all shapes and sizes, taking its toll on loved ones in sometimes similar ways, and at other times, in completely different ways. Shock, denial, extreme sadness, and even anger may come before there is acceptance. I have touched all of those at one point or another and even experienced them all in one day. And I am fully aware that I may continue to deal with those emotions in circles that could last for quite a while.
My brother, who was asked to perform both of the funerals, had no other choice but to deal with that hard, rocking blow of grief immediately. How else was he supposed to get through his beloved grandparents’ funerals, sharing the Gospel in both of them, if that first blow was delayed? Only God could have helped in that way and we pray someone who needed to, heard the truth of His Son.
As for me, the news of their deaths quickly registered in my brain but not in my heart or emotions or whatever you want to call it. Those emotions have come like intermittent waves. A memory, a sound, a mental picture, an item – they show up without warning and for no apparent reason. But when they appear - in the middle of a worship song, driving down the road, in the shower, on the verge of finally falling asleep, watching a movie, sitting in a restaurant – the wave crashes. Sometimes hard, but honestly, mostly gentle and sweet. And the only way I can comprehend the gentle and sweet is because I KNOW without a doubt, that those two, precious individuals are with Jesus. And that brings gratefulness, so much gratefulness.
I miss Grandma and Granddaddy terribly. I miss their voices and their laughter. I miss their winks and their practical jokes. I miss their wisdom and their stories. I miss their faces. But they are not gone. :) They traded in their old, tired, painful, physical bodies for perfection. If that’s not trading up, I don’t know what is!
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. ~Revelation 21:4
Thanks for stopping by! ;)
For anyone who truly knows me, or even knows me a little, probably has some idea of how I feel about my grandparents, which were the inspiration for two of the book’s characters. I have been blessed with three incredible grandparents with an amazing love for the Lord. And even more, I’ve been blessed with them far longer than I’d ever hoped. Going into how much they mean to me, the examples they set and how unbelievably they are loved is for another blog entry, hopefully one day soon. But you get the idea.
In mid 2015, one of my grandmothers went home to Jesus. Two weeks ago, Jesus welcomed my grandfather into Heaven. I am learning that grief comes in all shapes and sizes, taking its toll on loved ones in sometimes similar ways, and at other times, in completely different ways. Shock, denial, extreme sadness, and even anger may come before there is acceptance. I have touched all of those at one point or another and even experienced them all in one day. And I am fully aware that I may continue to deal with those emotions in circles that could last for quite a while.
My brother, who was asked to perform both of the funerals, had no other choice but to deal with that hard, rocking blow of grief immediately. How else was he supposed to get through his beloved grandparents’ funerals, sharing the Gospel in both of them, if that first blow was delayed? Only God could have helped in that way and we pray someone who needed to, heard the truth of His Son.
As for me, the news of their deaths quickly registered in my brain but not in my heart or emotions or whatever you want to call it. Those emotions have come like intermittent waves. A memory, a sound, a mental picture, an item – they show up without warning and for no apparent reason. But when they appear - in the middle of a worship song, driving down the road, in the shower, on the verge of finally falling asleep, watching a movie, sitting in a restaurant – the wave crashes. Sometimes hard, but honestly, mostly gentle and sweet. And the only way I can comprehend the gentle and sweet is because I KNOW without a doubt, that those two, precious individuals are with Jesus. And that brings gratefulness, so much gratefulness.
I miss Grandma and Granddaddy terribly. I miss their voices and their laughter. I miss their winks and their practical jokes. I miss their wisdom and their stories. I miss their faces. But they are not gone. :) They traded in their old, tired, painful, physical bodies for perfection. If that’s not trading up, I don’t know what is!
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. ~Revelation 21:4
Thanks for stopping by! ;)