Hope -whether diminutive or in large quantities, has the capacity of filling cracks in desperate need of healing. -Isabel Allende.
It hasn’t been long since I lost my mother and then soon after my mother-in-law. In fact, there is a long line of goodbyes getting ready for their turn. Life is like that; it never slows down long enough to help us get over our grief before a new wave of painful emotions get riled up. Loss is never easy. Someone once told me that time is God’s gift to us in our grief. I get that, but when you lose someone, time seems to stand still, and each day the emptiness left by their absence seems as big as the expanse of the ocean.
However, there is no denying that time does help with the healing process. Regardless of its pace, we do get to a point when we look at photos of those who are gone, and rather than weeping, a smile surfaces. Then unexpectedly, memories rush like a river, and we find ourselves reminiscing, and laughing until our belly aches, because, after all, we did have some amazing times together.Hope floats. I’d venture to say hope is like a boat that not only floats in tempestuous waters but is large enough to carry our grievances until we are able to dock and continue our journey.
The void stays, and the pain lingers, but hope tells us, tomorrow will be better, and the day after tomorrow, and all the days after that. Hope. What a gift!