Carousel

A friend shared this example of unexpected loss and the grieving process that goes along with that. I love the visual and it is really "spot on" so I just wanted to share it.


It's like riding a carousel and everything is wonderful and as it should be. 

You have no fear of danger, then the carousel suddenly and violently stops, throwing you off the horse.  

You hit the ground hard, harder than any word can describe.  People rush to you as you lie on the ground trying to figure out what happened. Everyone is huddled around, tending to your needs, genuinely concerned. 

But they don't stop the carousel. It resumes, spinning and spinning. 

It appears that you will be okay and people slowly begin to move away. 

By the time you sit up and take things in, everyone is back on the carousel, the music is playing, and people are laughing and smiling.  

Meanwhile, you are still on the ground trying to catch a full breath with scraped knees, bruised bones, and a shattered heart. The crying doesn't stop the pain. 

Life has resumed, yet nothing about it feels like your life.

...because after all, nothing about it is your life, as you once knew it to be.


As the school year is winding down, baseball is in full swing, the temps are warming up, and the summer is just around the corner...a rush of many emotions creep in. 

I still can't believe in less than 3 months, it will be 2 years since Rod left this earth. Life has resumed. There is no doubt about that. I am grateful that there are still some people in my life who haven't forgotten and take the time to let me know that. You will never know how much that means. 

I feel like I have been slowly getting up and dusting myself off from the "hard fall" throughout this 2nd year. To most people it would probably appear that I was "okay" a long time ago. I will admit I am really good at that. But, as triggers tied to this time of year start to come more frequently, I know that underneath it all, I'm still feeling the scraped knees, bruised bones, heartbreak and vulnerability that comes with knowing my "safe" world changed in an instant, almost 2 years ago, and nothing will be the same again.

I don't say any of this for pity. I say it because I think it's so important to make people aware of. I just heard today of another mom in Little Rock, whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack and she is left to pick up the pieces with 3 young children. This world is broken. It is full of sorrow and dreams that are shattered. The only thing I can hold on to that is certain is my hope in Christ. All things will be made beautiful and new in God's perfect time. And, this world is not our home. 

I share this so that hopefully we will all take time to remember. If not for ourselves, for those who have watched the carousel keep spinning and could do absolutely NOTHING about it. So, even though the carousel resumed for some, it never did for the ones who suddenly had someone precious taken away from them. It is just something good to keep in mind. 

I think for me, REMEMBERING is the single most important thing you can do for someone after a loss. Prayer is certainly important, but if you don't remember, you won't pray...so do whatever it takes to remember well. Even if that means you need to write it on your calendar or put it in your phone to just let someone know you still care, you still think about them and their loss, and you still remember their loved one. Do it. You will never know how much it means, until you are walking that road yourself. It matters!