A little of Chapter 4 ~ for my FOL Readers

For my FOL readers:  

This is an excerpt from chapter 4 of Facets of Life ~  This was written as Matthew's 1st birthday was approaching...  

DISAPPOINTMENTS, NIGHTMARES AND MEMORIES

Life has seemed so full of disappointments, and to tell the truth, we are sick of them.  So many days I want to quit.  As July draws near, I feel depression coming over me and all I want to do is sleep, even though I never really sleep.  The nightmares come on a regular basis now as we approach Matthew's first birthday.  Once again I find that time has not helped me to "get over my loss" as so many people have tried to comfort me by saying.  Not a day or a second goes by that I don't ache for my baby.  Sometimes I have to remind myself to breathe and sometimes I don't want to take that breath.  Then I think of Nathan and Ronnie, I never want to leave them.  It is all so physically and emotionally painful; the nightmares, the memories, the smell of the hospital, then leaving the hospital without my baby.  As I battle these emotions I find I cannot sleep.

Once again memory takes me back to the day of his birth and the overwhelming disappointment of the unexpected turn of events that day.  Then my mind swiftly takes me to the day of Matthew's service, the first time I saw him.  I remember how I held him to my chest, how I felt his cheek next to mine and the embrace that lasted only a moment that I would never have again.  That was the most beautiful as well as the most heartbreaking day in my life.  Everyday I close my eyes and just ask Jesus to never, never, never let forget the feel of his perfect little cheek touching mine. Oh God, I miss that!  I have slept with his blue bear every night since I came home from the hospital.  I put it to my cheek and just cry.  So many emotions are surfacing I feel though I am suffocating beneath the weight of them.  I can't sleep as the waves of emotion roll over me again and again...

Are you approaching a first  birthday?  Are you having overwhelming flashbacks of the day that forever changed your life?  Do you find yourself caught in the nightmare as you close your eyes?  Oh my goodness, to look back and understand the depth of emotions and the emptiness I had inside of me makes my heart hurt.  And to know that so many of you are feeling that same way, urges me to press on in this journey with Facets of Life and letting you know there is such hope ahead.  It still hurts, but there is hope! 

Psalm 4:8 "In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust."

Much love,

LCW

Pain Is...

To start my FOL posts, I decided to share with you a few words from the Introduction of the book...

Pain is what I have endured for the sake of survival, mentally and physically.  Pain is silent. Pain is hard.  Pain is self destructing.  Pain is the removal of the quietness in my inner being.  Living in chronic pain tempts me to be envious of those I see walking around  me.  But pain is also the endless echo in my heart that says it is not just me that hurts.  There are others out there that are also in constant pain.  Pain drives me to my passion, my passion for compassion... 


What is pain to you?

My (our) pain has been translated within 142 pages... and every word, every tear shed while on this journey has led me to this place to reach out to those who are suffering the immense pain of loss.  I believe that God heals, and He has healed me, but the pain remains and He allows that pain to produce within my heart such compassion for others that hurt deeply and are searching for hope.  Pain is a great teacher...  and if we respond to it, the pain will lead us on this journey to our healing through helping others.  To suffer pain is to gain compassion... and when you show compassion, you are sharing the love of God and that love of God will shine through the very midst of your pain and radiate into the hearts of others thus bringing healing to the two hearts God has intertwined though His plan, in His timing, and in His care.

Pain is hard friends...  I am no stranger to it.

I pray that through Facets of Life, you may see our pain as we struggle through this journey, but in the end you will have the HOPE God has given to us in the midst of it all.

Love to all,

LCW