Letting Go to Move Forward

 

"We know that our loved one has died.  Do we recognize that in that death a part of us has died, too!  The part of us that lived in our relationship to that person alive in the world has died.  The part of us that lived in expectation of a future on earth together has died.  The part of us that enjoyed the commonality of shared memories has died.  This is a lot to lose...  We have to let go and then in the spaces where those deaths have occurred, new life will spring.  Some of the new life may be our new relationship with our lost love."  ~Martha Hickman  

"At every point in the human journey we find that we have to let go in order to move forward; and letting go means dying a little.  In the process we are being created anew, awakened afresh to the source of our being."  ~Kathleen Fischer

My journal of grief for my daughter Crystal involves a part of me dying.  I have turned to the spirit of her creativity in her art work to help move forward.  My new relationship is with her as an artist and her legacy of writing notes and cards for the people she loved.  I have continued that legacy with  my Card Ministry "Crystal Expressions."  I joined multiple groups "Cards of Kindness, Cards for Cool Kids, Small Acts Big Change, Braid Missions, Smiles for Seniors, etc. to share her passion for coloring and designing cards.  It gives me comfort sharing her artwork with others.

I have opened my hand and heart to relinquish and to receive.

Lifting Away Sorrow

 It is the person, whom we want, not the grief.  "May I hold my grief lightly in my hand so it can lift away from me.  My connection to the one I have lost is inviolate; it cannot be broken,"

~Martha Hickman

A New Day will come

 

"May I honor --and trust--the processes of grief and of healing, knowing that  in time, a new day will come."

~Martha W. Hickman

Looking for a Butterfly in the Winter Woods

 "No moment is ever free of the life history that has preceded it" (Martha W. Hickman). The fear of losing the memory of a love one we have lost will never happen, but there is hope for the broken hearted.  We can lose, or be released, from the overhanging cloud of gloom.  I for one am looking for that Butterfly in the winter woods.  I want to be able to see it!  As a loving tribute to my daughter Crystal, I will walk out from under this cloud so I can see the beauty of life around me.  She would want that.

"They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods."

~Edith Wharton

Plants in the Mist

The plant grows in the mist and under clouds as truly as under sunshine." 

--William Ellery Channing

Like the seed that has lain in the ground all winter, in spring it will begin its springtime dance into new life.  One who is higher than I leads me through this dark land.  I am moved along in steady and unseen ways into new life.

Healing After Loss

Martha W. Hickman

The Earth is My Sister

"The earth is my sister.  I love her daily grace, her silent daring, and how loved I am."  The cycle of the seasons is alive with the promise of rebirth.  Creation is a mystery and so is death.  But there are promises, that we are the children of God.  "In Life as in death, we draw our power from the same source." 
Quote:  Martha W. Hickman, Healing After Loss

My mother loved the cycle of the seasons.  She knew about the death and rebirth of her garden and flowers every year.  She nurtured and watered her flowers daily. She had faith and believed in God's promises of everlasting life for those who believe in him.