Pity Party... HUSH

How is it only Tuesday?

I've had a little bit of a dark cloud over me the past week.  Work and life in general have been very busy.  After a VERY long day, this happened...

I'm not going to lie -- seeing this bowl shatter on our kitchen floor opened the floodgates.  Stupid, I know, but this was such a generous and sweet gift from Bailey and I just love my wedding china.  (Bay- if you are reading this, I need your help finding a replacement).  AND, like I said, people, this was just the last straw to do me in after a long day.

Then I tried to think back to the last time I cried, I'm really not a crier.  Well, it was Sunday in church -- and maybe it was more tearing up than actually full on crying.  It was during the last sermon of a four part series about companionship.  It got me thinking of how incredibly blessed I am and have been during my life with many companions -- family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.  The lesson was called "Hush" and the minister eloquently described various stories about someone going through something so devastating in life (losing a child, living with a debilitating disease, divorce) that there are no words that will satisfy or be enough to lessen the heartache.  Her stories painted vivid and familiar pictures.  I thought about a few friends who are going through tough times and how I've struggled with finding the right words...knowing that nothing I can possibly say will lessen the pain they are feeling.  The minister reminded us that in times like these it's presence that matters, not words.  Presence + Prayer is the best gift you can offer your companion.  You don't need audible words.

Thinking back to the sermon...I picked up the pieces of the china and told myself to HUSH.  I'm not going through anything terrible, I'm just busy...and busy isn't bad, it's good.  Sure, I missed a going away party tonight because of work, but that's nothing in the scheme of things.  I'm so incredibly blessed and so incredibly happy. 

The first blog I started reading was about a woman, "NieNie," in her mid-twenties who was burned on 80% of her body when she and her husband were in a plane crash.  They were both in drug-induced comas as their bodies healed and their family and friends prayed, prayed, prayed.  She looked like a totally different person that her kids didn't recognize and was in excruciating pain.  My family and friends had to hear daily updates (that I got via her sisters updating her beloved blog, until she was strong enough to tell her own story again). She became a "friend" that I wanted to check on.  Little did she know, but I was her companion.  On days when work seems too stressful or I'm feeling "off" I wear a little NieNie t-shirt I bought to support her.  Sometimes I need a physical reminder that whatever stress I'll endure that day is nothing compared to what NieNie has gone through over the last 4 years.  I guess life really is all about keeping things in perspective.

I can't wear my adored NieNie t-shirt tomorrow since I head to Columbus for work, but I'm keeping these P words top-of-mind:
presence

prayer

perspective

positive

XO,

Whit