Moving past Fear

What do you do when Fear has you paralyzed?  The unspeakable... the tragic... the living nightmares...

Fear can stop a heart.

A cancer diagnosis does that.  It can simply stop you in your tracks.  The fear, the unknowns, sheer dread of the outcome... the panic cripples...

And how do you ever move past the fear?

Take a breathe... then take a step.

This principle served mom well throughout her cancer journey.  From the moment she heard the diagnosis, to the debilitating treatments she endured, this mantra gave her the permission to just take the next step.

She told me that if she allowed herself to look too far into the future, knowing the harrowing side effects of the chemo and radiation, she wouldn't be able to do it.  But by taking a breath and just taking the next step... one day at a time, she could endure.  And not only endure, but live life well for that day.

It reminded me of the oft-quoted joke, "How do you eat an elephant?"  {groan...lol}  "One Bite at a Time... One Bite at a Time."

There is truth there.  

Whether it's a cancer diagnosis, a financial calamity, a spouse's betrayal, or a child's heartbreak... fear can consume and paralyze us.

Take that breath.

Then take a step.

Just last week our pastor closed his sermon with a challenge that spoke volumes to this heart:

"Do not ask the Lord to Guide your Footsteps

if you are not Willing to Move your Feet."

Amen and Amen...

Graced to take that breath,

and move forward past the fear

into God's unfailing Promises.

Love, Always,

              Jane

When the Familiar Slips Away...

I am utterly spent... my heart aches and I have struggled for words to wrap up these long days past.

2 weeks ago, Dad sold his house.  That's the black and white of it.

But, oh, it covers a multitude of deep and hard emotions...

That house... our home.  The place we all last remember mom, sitting in her recliner, smiling happy... cooking up a storm in her kitchen... entertaining friends joyful around her welcoming table... the boisterous Christmas celebrations all together...

That home is now empty... belongs to strangers... and the weeks leading up to the sale have been hard... filled with packing, so much packing and sorting... and talking... reminiscing... and just plain hard work, inside and out...

The sale makes sense.  It does, in the black and white of it all... After Dad moved into the assisted living at the end of the year, his house sat empty, utility bills piling up, taxes coming due.

The realtor was compassionate, but a bull-dog, and the home sold quickly... estate sale was a whirlwind, and all of a sudden, much too soon, the house was empty...

That was a hard thing... closing that front door and walking away from all the memories we have made over the years...

A piece of our heart remains...

for this has been a home filled with love and laughter

Being gentle with ourselves these days as we allow the sadness, weep over the goodbye, trace the legacy created here, and determine to carry the joy forward.

Trusting in the strength of family and God's sweet Grace

as we walk into our next chapter... with Hope

For There is Hope even in the midst of transition,

My Love, Always,

            Jane