Friday, April 24, 2009

In Good Company

The past three days I have had the pleasure of hosting my good friend Brittney and two of her children. We were joined here one night by our friends Tiffany and Michelle. All of us lost a child in a tragic accident. All our children were between 1 and 2 years old. 

We had a get together one night that went late into the night. We laughed and cried and shared coping strategies. We also talked about various other subjects like weight loss and exercise and American Idol. 

These women buoy me up. I feel stronger with them by my side. They are remarkable women, each of them. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses, our own unique aspects to our trials, our own stories. But we are all evidence of life after the death of a child. And I love to see how beautifully life can be lived even after such heart ache.

Tiffany, Britt, and I hung out most of yesterday letting our children play. They played in the spa and Britt and Tiff worked out. (I have given that up for the time being.) We just enjoyed the day and being in the company of other "amputees." 

Britt has just left to go back home to Arizona. I come away from these days feeling grateful. Grateful to be me. Grateful for all the gifts and talents with which the Lord has blessed me. Grateful for the testimony and witness God has given me. Grateful for my family and friends. Grateful for the support I receive from all corners of the earth through this blog. Grateful for great friends who really KNOW. Grateful for the eternal plan of our Heavenly Father and to know as much about it as I do. Grateful to be a mother to children both on Earth and in Heaven. Grateful for the joys in my life and even grateful for the great sorrows.

I know my sorrows sown now will one day yield up fruit sweeter than I have experienced thus far in my life. And for that fact and the knowledge of that fact, I am grateful. 

7 comments:

Mary said...

As always, Stephanie, your words are amazing and inspiring.

Marylin said...

What a blessed visit! How wonderful to have such great friends to help you and I am sure you help them. All my love

Tiffany said...

Steph, I had such a great time visiting with everyone. You are truly such an example to so many. I know that one of the reasons I feel I'm doing better than I should be is because of you and Britt calling almost immediately after losing my Jack. I have so much love and respect for you. It was so nice to be able to sit back and hang out feeling completely at ease and engulfed in so much love. Thank you Steph. I love you. I'll anxiously be awaiting the news of little Noble. How exciting!

Becky said...

I love that you surround yourself with wonderful, understanding people. I love that you seek out support. I wish I could find a way to get that kind of support for my sister. (She lost her son April 6, 2008. He was 2.)

Brittany said...

Your words are amazing and inspiring and I am so glad that you had such a good time.

Catherine Noorda said...

good time. there's nothing as great as good friends......except maybe good husbands and good kids :) i'm glad you've had all this good clean fun right before little guy is born. i'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited to meet him.

Amanda said...

What an amazing experience for you. It's always nice to be around kindred.