Social media is a blessing and a curse. I love that it gives me "insight" into my friends' lives, letting me catch up with friends that I rarely see. I love that it's a place to ask many people for prayer requests all at once. I love the memes that make me laugh after a long day, the jokes that are reposted. I love that I can get up to date news info or learn about severe weather issues just by scrolling through a newsfeed. The thing that I don't love about it, though, is that it's not always real. People make their life sound so much better/easier than it really is. So I'm going to use this social platform and let you know it's been real lately.
Life has been heavy. Rob and I have argued more than once this week. P was sick this week and E throws major temper tantrums when he's called out for a dirty room. But, that's nothing compared to what some of our family and friends are going through. For the sake of their privacy, I won't go into all the details. But I will say that it's heavy. In some cases, literally life or death heavy. I go to bed with so many prayer requests on my mind that I usually fall asleep praying for family and friends, only to wake up a few hours later to resume my prayer list. One prayer request that God answered according to His Will and not mine concerned good ole Uncle Joe. I prayed so hard for a miracle, that God would heal Uncle Joe from cancer. And God did heal him in the eternal sense but not in the earthly way I had prayed for.
So today we are going to Uncle Joe's visitation. Some people like attending funerals because it gives them closure. I am one of those people who avoid them at all costs. I don't know what to say to loved ones (I refuse to say "I'm sorry for your loss" after hearing that so much at my Papa and Nana's funerals). I ugly cry at time or completely put a wall up, making people think I'm rude and selfless. I don't like anything about funerals. I haven't been to a funeral since P was about a year old. But today I want to go pay my respects to Uncle Joe because he meant so much to me. We didn't see him often but he was one of those men who was larger than life, one of those men that knew more than Google, one of those men that would drop everything to help someone in need, one of those men who could make people laugh with his off sense of humor.
Uncle Joe was one of the first people I met when we moved here. I trash talked Louisiana to him and he just listened. He agreed with a couple things I said then pointed out the many good things about the area. He made jokes about the people and food and made me feel like what I said mattered, even though I just bad mouthed his home state. He was just one of those men that we need more of in life. He went the extra mile. He enjoyed life and he treated everyone with kindness and respect. So today I will say my final earthly goodbyes to him. I will hug his dear wife and daughters close. I will offer what comfort I can because that's what life is about today.
I won't like it but then again not everything in life is a beautiful bed of roses. Sometimes it's the ugly thorns on the rosebushes. And that's ok to talk about as well. Life is good and bad, ugly and beautiful. Sometimes all at the same time. But there's always tomorrow and that's what helps me get through the not so pretty "social media" days of life. Because, really and truly, that's what life is....being real and embracing all that it throws at you.
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