Thank you all for praying for the Haven of Hope Retreat this past weekend. God answered your prayers! The mom's that came in on Friday were not the same when they left on Sunday and let me tell you that was God! Some of them mom's shared on that on Friday they did not want to be there and some even admitted to almost backing out. But on Sunday they were all glad that they came and were uplifted and renewed in spirit. God truly blessed us with His presence.
One of the greatest joys for me was to have so many mom's before the retreat want to help by providing gifts for the other mom's. We had tons of stuff to give them! It was amazing. From books to special blankets to Sentsy. It was such a blessing to see these mom's want to reach out.
Lots of prayer went into this weekend. In fact God would not let Marsha, Daisy or I sleep on Friday night so we were up praying into the wee hours of the night for the women God brought to the retreat. I think I can speak for all of us when the weekend was over we were exhausted but reassured that it made a difference for the kingdom of God.
The women who came out were precious to share their children's story with us and what a blessing it was to sit and listen.
For those of you that are reading this and have not walked this path and have children, STOP. Stop and take time to enjoy today. The messes, the arguing, the whining, the laughter, the tears, the piles of laundry, the dirty rooms, all of these things are things I missed when I Josh and Jennifer died. And today I am so grateful that I have a child that I can honestly bask in today with. When I pray with my son at night I always thank God for another day with him. Why? Because that is all I have. I don't know what tomorrow has. God does and for that I do not have to worry. I allow myself to worry about tomorrow it steals the joy of today. So hug your children a little tighter, a little longer. Thank God for all the things that irritate you about being a mom. You may not loose them to death but they will grow up and you will miss this!
Grays 2013
Susan, you have been such a blessing to me and to all the girls at the retreat. I truly thank you Daisy and Marsha from the bottom of my heart for such a beautiful, inspiring, memorable retreat. You brought many mommas together to share their wonderful children. You all have brought many friendships together. I truly am glad I was able to make this past weekend and feel so honored to hear your little one's stories. Their stories will stay with me forever. Thank you so much!!!
ReplyDelete<3 Mary
You are so right, Susan... Today, right now, is all I have... and what a gift it is!
ReplyDeleteIt was a true blessing to serve alongside you, my friend. You know what's really great? Even if we didn't share the common bond of child loss, I would totally be your friend under normal circumstances. I {heart} you!
And that is enough mushiness for the comments section today. :)
The end.