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A Ginormous Thank You

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I’ve been working on this post for weeks, but cannot find sufficient words to express the gratitude I feel toward the many, many friends who stepped up to help the children and me during the hardest time in our lives. Each time I sit down to write, the tears blind me as I try to list the blessings poured on us by our friends during the past two months.

When I could barely function multiple friends made sure the kids and I ate. My friends, who are in the stage of parenting when getting a meal on the table each night feels like an insurmountable task, fed us night after night.

Grocery bags filled with snacks and easy to fix meals found their way into my car at homeschool events.  Pizza showed up on our doorstep. Money arrived from far and near with notes instructing me to spend it to make my life easier- on groceries, on a restaurant or even on a special treat for the kids or myself.

At a time when I felt like a failure- unlovable and not worth anything good, my friends singled me out.  They kept me stocked with dairy-free treats- chocolate, frozen ice sorbet, homemade treats, and wine. They made sure to check on me, to ask how I was doing in a way that I knew was more than an obligatory question.  They listened. They cried with me. They prayed over me. Texts, emails, and Facebook messages came every single day just to check on me.  Some even showed up to chat with me after I tucked my kids into bed so I wouldn’t be lonely. Their hearts broke with mine. They made it clear that I am worthy of love, that I am special… that I am worth the trouble of caring for.

Friends’ husbands (some I had never met) showed up to move furniture. They offered to sit with me while strangers came from my many Craigslist postings to buy the stuff I didn’t want to move. Neighbors brought my trash cans in from the curb in the freezing rain. One friend made sure I was stocked with moving boxes and packing tape.

The children were not forgotten either. Friends hugged them, held them, talked with them, and really listened. They brought gifts to occupy their time. Gifts that said, “you are loved, you are special.”  Movies, art supplies, gift cards, crafts, snacks, chalk, and countless other treasures. One night Miriam looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Momma, our friends are amazing. They really love us!”

When we felt alone and abandoned all of these blessings converged upon us. The outpouring of love and support dulled the loneliness and pain.

Thank you friends, you mean more to me than words could ever express.  I wouldn’t have survived those long weeks in Charlotte without you.  I pray that you are blessed for your kindness, love and support.  Thanks to you, despite losing the love of my life, I have never felt more loved and supported.

 

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6 Comments

  1. Ruth 3:11. My love, my sister. You are beyond worthiness. So special. I am so thankful for your wonderful friends who have and continue to help you through.

  2. My heart aches yet rejoices w/ you at the same time at the many, many
    blessings you still have. This is what’s called “Christianity in action”.

  3. So sorry you had to walk through this difficult path. I don’t really understand what happened, but I am glad to know that you have friends nearby who sent you love in tangible ways. I am sending a prayer for you and a hug from a distance.

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