Hope

Have you ever seen the movie "The Shawshank Redemption"?  It was Isaac's favorite movie, the first movie we ever watched together, and has become one of my favorites.  I never actually asked Isaac why he loved that movie so much.  I knew he liked the characters and the one-liners in the movie.  I knew his favorite quote came from that movie (Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.).  But it wasn't until recently that it really hit me how very much that movie is about hope.  I'm sure some of you are thinking "Um...duh, we knew that all along."  Humor me, ok? 

Do you know what the last words of that movie are?  I HOPE.  Isaac had such amazing hope.  He loved to share it with others, and remind me of it when times got tough.  I love the last lines of the movie.  I like to think that if Isaac could choose a movie quote to say as he crossed from earth to Heaven, it would be Red's words:  "I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel.   A freeman at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope I can see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams...I hope."

This movie has been on my mind a lot lately.  My favorite line of the movie is "Get busy living, or get busy dying." and everytime I start to mope around or throw myself a pity party, I hear that line in my head.  I know that's exactly what Isaac would say to me.  He'd say  "Jess - get busy living!  You'll have plenty of time to talk to me when you get to Heaven!  Stop moping around and get busy telling people about Jesus, because Heaven is fantasmatical!"  (He made that word up)
So with that all being said, I'm reworking my blogs a bit.  I find that I want to share more about my day-to-day life, and the grief is not at the forefront of my life any more.  I'm not going to completely stop writing on this blog, but just don't expect to see much here.  I've renamed my "The Space Between" blog.  Go visit and check out its new name...I think you'll like it.

Thank you for all of your kind messages and encouragement.  Thank you for letting me be open and honest, and share my heart with you all - broken and healing.  Expect me to keep posting at the other blog about what God continues to do in my life...plus all things random, DIY, crafting, cooking, and otherwise interesting to write about.  I hope you'll follow me there!

Soaring

This morning I heard this song on the radio - it is called "I Need You" by The Swift.  It is beautiful, and there was one verse that I think describes well what I feel at this point in my journey.  I can see the valley, it's still there...but I feel more like I am soaring above it, not of my own strength but with the strength of God. 

"Today my soul is soaring

Way over mountains high

Though I can see the valleys

They're all just passing by

It's not that I am stronger

Look at my feeble wings

But I've been lifted higher

Yaweh's lifted me in His own strength."