I have been a widow now for six years. Like being a newly-wed and a new mother, it is a big learning curve and although God has been with me every step of the way, it has not been the happiest time of my life, but I have learned more about compassion, strength and God’s grace through the process. One learns from struggles…and from life’s changes.
The local newspaper’s sports pages no longer hold any interest…Harry always read them and I usually got lost in the football and hockey stuff but did recognize some of the golf information. (My clubs have been used once in the five years since he has been gone.)
The newspaper’s Obituary now has names in it I usually recognize and I recall their past history in a town I have spent nearly 50 years.
I glance through the current events, read the various Minister’s messages on Fridays and check some of the articles by journalist that I like. The advertising inserts seldom get a glance. I need nothing they offer and grocery specials are not that special to a person who shops for “one” adult and no longer buys in bulk.
My girls still keep tabs on me and visit now and again. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren are precious treasures but my friends have become so important. They, especially the widows understand this still on-going role in my life.
But, I am now into a different chapter in the book of life. Oh yes, I can look back and memories engulf me, but just like a book…if you know the ending of that particular chapter, it has lost some of its delights. But each new chapter contains its own story…its trials and triumphs.
So today is all I have…it is all any of us has. And God has again and again, been a part of this new chapter in my life and has filled it with such surprising blessings…stories to write, great-grandchildren and new and much loved friends. He obviously still has a plan for me and I will just wander down this “still a bit unfamiliar” road and thank Him for gifts given in the past and the promise of gifts for each new day.
