Of course, if I could have, I would have emailed my Auntie Ann too.
When you can longer send e-mails, or make phone calls, or write cards, we have to look elsewhere for answers from our loved ones.
My grandma sent me some of her own thoughts and also, in her wisdom, included an answer from Auntie Ann.
This was written a few weeks before she died.
"Life doesn't just happen to us. We make/create our lives ourselves in how we respond to situations, what we do with what is given to us. Life is about courage and guts, not giving up, making things happen. All cliches, but all so true.
I have been infinitely blessed in my life rich and
I am eternally grateful in that, and the people I have known, and the things I
have learned. And when I do get stuck or hurt or tested or tired or
saddened, or when I do "go down," I plan/hope to go down fighting and not to
just roll over. I hope I have the courage and strength necessary because
it is so very hard sometimes. Life has tested me a lot already and these
are things I truly believe. But I do not know what the future will bring
or how I will hold up. So I pray for strength and courage and love
to fill my heart. To let Love be how I approach the hard parts of life,
and the good parts too. Sometimes it is so hard, sometimes it is so
easy. It feels like I have felt the whole spectrum, but I have
not."
Thank you, Auntie Ann, for reminding me that I cannot just sit by the sidelines and wait for things to change or get better. I need to make things the way I want them to be. If I want something to be different, it requires action.
Here's to courage and strength to do the hard things.
*I will be sharing more of the thoughts I received about what "meant to be" means. Thanks to everyone who contributed....or had every intention of contributing ;)
I thought e-mailing the wise women in your life was a brilliant idea. I'd really like to hear what everyone else had to say about it.
ReplyDeleteI love that your grandma sent Auntie Ann's letter, so full of wisdom. Sometimes even when we've heard it all before, what we need to hear comes at just the right time, from just the right person, in just the right way. & THAT seems meant to be.
Here's to courage & strength!