Living Proof

It's been four long years since I've seen my beautiful mama's face, and yet it feels just like yesterday when I hugged her before she went into the ambulance for the last time. People handle grief so differently, and not way is the right way---your way is what counts. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' too grieving. When my dad died nine years ago, it was such a strange feeling. The long drawn-out, excruciating suffering that went on made is passing more of a sad relief. We were all quiet. Grief struck differently, in waves, and for myself, it came a bit after his funeral. I had already experienced the 'anticipatory grief,' as he was suffering at the end. I remember his funeral all too well. I was greeting people as they came in, while my mom sat in the front with her sister and friend. The memorial video was set up to make people laugh and cry. Some video footages of my dad captured his very essence: funny and 'colorful' with his words.  Laughte...

Did you ever feel as though your prayers weren't strong enough, or that it really didn't do anything noticeable? Why do some prayers get answered and others not?  I love what Pastor Rick Warren once said,  "When you’re going through fire, do you ever wonder why you have to go through it? It’s for testing and purification. As you pray about something over and over again, you face tests that reveal more about you. God says in Zechariah 13:9, 'I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold.'  You test gold by putting it in a big vat and heating it until it gets so hot that all the impurities are burned off. How do metalsmiths know when gold and silver are pure? When they can see their reflection in them. God can see his reflection in you when all the impurities have burned out of your life—after you’ve been through the fire. He says that, after he’s done the testing and purification, 'They will call on my name, and I will answer them' (Zechariah 13...

What you did for yourself and your family and friends, as well as those who may be around you at work or in the grocery store was a morally decent thing to do. You're super brave, and your hearts are all in the right place. There's no question about it---you did what you did with good intentions. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. We're supposed to listen to our doctors, our hospitals and the CDC. We're supposed to believe that the government is helping us. We are supposed to believe many things, until the truth unfolds. But remember, it's not your fault. With that being said, this is also not the fault of the unvaccinated.  We were lied to.  From the very beginning, all the people around me were "seemingly" vaccinated. No one said a word if they weren't. I didn't care---I always told people I was unvaccinated, so they could make a decision whether or not to be around me. I wanted to give them that choice. I even did that with a coworker who came...