It's hard to believe that Mom will have been gone from us for 3 years today. I'm thankful that we had the incredible relationship that was ours but oh how I miss that Gal......
I was thinking of Mom as I was contemplating walking into 2022 and it struck me that there were conversations that we had over the last 6 months of her life that have relevance for this year that I'm walking into.
Forward Friday is not about making a New Year’s Resolutions or making a vow but a simple admission that most successful moments come with making and taking simple forward steps even in the face of fear with a measure of faith to see victories won in our lives… That’s where I’m Headed!! Join me?
Let’s Get Into This!
It’s Going To Get Better! That was always Mom’s commentary about many things…. Even the morning that she passed away, that was one of the last things she said to me/us before I left for work.
It’s Going To Get Better!
I always think of how positive Mom was even in the face of pain, frustration, disappointment, the letdowns of life but Mom was always thinking half full.
So that one doesn’t think Mom’s life was easy, she grew up in the late 1920’s-early 30’s.
Mom grew up basically without her mom who died when she was 2 yrs. old. Spent years in boarding school and the convent because her dad was trying grow his fledgling business.
There were many horror stories of mistreatment that mom endured.
Also being an interracial young woman (American father, French Canadian mother) was another factor of mistreatment that mom regularly faced.
However, even when she would tell of some of the difficult moments she faced in her life, mom would always interject a positive. Both my parents were like that. Never leave the negative hanging; acknowledge it but look for a positive.
I remember one day taking her for a drive that last fall and during the drive, mom said whenever she felt lonely, hurt, depressed and down, she would go for long walks in and around the city and when she would see all the beauty that God created, she knew that someday, things would get better and it encouraged her to move forward. Wow…… such resolve and resiliency.
When she would see all the beauty that God created, she just knew that someday, things would get better and it encouraged her to move forward.
Forward
So one of mom’s little anecdotes for me was to not neglect little steps forward. Sometimes, when I was younger, I would see big picture scenarios and when things didn’t happen at the pace or speed I thought they should go, I would become frustrated and despondent.
Mom would quote a line from a great song: “Not to the strong is the battle, nor to the swift is the race, but to the true and the faithful, victory is promised through Grace”.
“Not to the strong is the battle, nor to the swift is the race, but to the true and the faithful, victory is promised through Grace”.
My cue to slow down and be grateful for the small steps forward.
My 2022 has some forward dreams. I decided in the middle of December that I will take steps forward to work towards those dreams and to be grateful for the process and journey of learning that will come with the realization of those dreams.
I am confident that I will see them come to pass; I will appreciate all the forward steps on the way to getting there.
Fear
Obviously, we are living in a time of fear, real or imagined or ramped up for a certain group to gain from it but nonetheless, fear is something that we all deal with at certain points in our lives.
It’s interesting; while mom had many moments of fear to deal with, it never stopped her from living life to the fullest.
I remember when I was fired from a job some years ago, I was afraid of the unknown. There were so many things I was dealing with; who was I, what do I do, where do I go from here and more…..
Mom would always say that one of fear’s great weapons was to create paralysis….. Paralysis of movement, paralysis of creativity, belief in one’s abilities and destiny.
Besides praying for me and my sanity, it was her encouragement to keep moving in spite of the disappointment as I look back was one of those key pushes that made a big difference in my moving forward.
I remember mom saying not to hide and “hermitize (my word concoction) ” but to do the things I could do and believe for new roads to open at the right time.
Fear may be part of our existence and while we must contend with fear in varying degrees of how it can affect us, here are a couple of things to consider.
Fear Can Stop Us From Pursuing What Is Meaningful And Important To Us, As Much As It Pretends To Be Keeping Us Safe From Harm So We Freeze At Times And Stop.
Remember that Fear Thoughts Are Just That; Thoughts.
Even Though We Can’t Stop The Fear Thoughts, Learning To Disobey Our Fear Thoughts Will Eventually Lead To A Decrease In Giving In To Those Very Thoughts.
Yes, there are real situations that we encounter fearful moments but we must consider moving forward instead of cowering back, quitting, turning back and also knowing that most fears never come to be.
Faith
Mom would always pray for us not just as boys growing up but all throughout her life. Mom would always say that one way to conquer fear, doubt, the unknown questions, the frustrations that life will come at us with was/is to have faith in an unshakeable Heavenly Father.
She’d say that that was why, even with the hard and very tough childhood, teenage and early young adulthood life she lived, she could still smile, still sing, still love, still believe and hope for a better future because her faith was on an unshakeable Rock!
As we walk into this New Year, we may not say it out loud, but this past 20 months has thrown us for a loop, we secretly have lost hope in the ones who supposedly know what they’re doing, fear has been doing a number on us……….
No matter the case, there is something to be said about having Faith in a Powerful, All Loving, All Knowing, Personal and Personable Heavenly Father.
Here are a few Faith Filled Thoughts to help us consider walking into this New Year with a measure of Hope!
Faith is unseen but felt, faith is strength when we feel we have none, faith is hope when all seems lost.
The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness.
If we can keep our faith, we keep our trust, we keep the right attitude, if were grateful, we can see God open up new doors.
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Matthew 21:22
Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; men and women cannot live in health without them.
If we lose faith, we lose all.
To have faith is to trust ourselves to the water. When we swim we don't grab hold of the water, because if we do we will sink and drown. Instead we relax, and float.
Our faith doesn't remove the pain, but it gets us through the pain. Trusting in God doesn't diminish or vanquish the anguish, but it enables us to endure it.
Mom may not be here in person any longer but as I stood by her gravesite today, I felt her comforting words in my heart and even though I miss her terribly, I know that Mom would want all of us to walk in a Forward progression, even with little steps.
That Fear doesn’t have to define us and that Faith in a Personal, Personable Heavenly Father can and will be the difference in how we walk out 2022….
Miss my wrinkly hand, crazy Mama!!!
Walking into 2022 with Hope!!!
Will you join me?
Dave
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