The Ride Goes On

Life goes on.  No matter how much you wish that life would slow down just a little bit, it just keeps keepin’ on.  And it always will.  Life stops for no one.

While on this ride called LIFE, you have to take the good with the bad, smile when you’re sad, love what you’ve got and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from your mistakes, but never regret. People change. Things go wrong. Just remember, the RIDE goes on. ~Unknown

I heard my friend speak about the loss of a spouse the other day.  He had passed away when their children were young.  And she talked about how her heart absolutely broke in two.  She spoke of her terrible pain, how she didn’t think she could go on with out him.  How he had been the primary bread winner and she had been a stay-at-home mom, caring for their home and managing family life.

Although it has been years since his death, she still gets emotional when she talks about him.  A tear slips out every now and then and her voice shakes a bit.  She spoke of how lost she felt.  She recounted one time when she just didn’t want to get out of bed.  She was depressed, she wasn’t eating and she hadn’t been out of the house since she attended his funeral.

She said she would not have made it had a woman from her church not come to her house.  Even though my friend didn’t invite the woman in, she came in anyway.  She marched right into her bedroom, pulled her close and said, “Life goes on.  You’ve got babies and animals you have to take care of.  You’ve got to get up.”

My friend said she was sobbing and the church lady told her to “Cry it out.”  My friend said she cried for what seemed forever and asked the church lady how she got in.  My friend told me her kids were at school and she was sure she locked the door.  The church lady told her that the door was open, but my friend insisted to me that she locked it.

My friend took a shower, ate a sandwich that the church lady had fixed for her, cried some more and then said to the church lady, “Thank you.  Can you stay with me for a few more minutes and go with me to the barn to feed the animals?”.

“My husband has already taken care of that.  I want you to concentrate on getting better and taking care of the children, yourself and your home.  Okay?  My husband and some more men from the church men will be over to keep the animals taken care of for a while.”

My friend said the church lady stopped and said, “Life goes on.  You must remember that.  I know you are hurting, I know you are heartbroken.  I understand that.  But, sweetie, life goes on.”  She helped in the house, did some laundry, fixed a meal for the children to have when they got home and told my friend she had to leave.  My friend had been taking clothes from the dryer and when she followed the woman’s voice into the living room, the church lady was gone.  She said that she called every church within a 50-mile radius to try to find her.   No one knew who she was talking about.

My friend said she never saw any of the men from the church come over and take care of the animals, but they were fed every morning and every night for weeks like clockwork.

My friend looks back on that time as the day she learned that she had to move on.  That other people needed her.  And that God had a plan for her.  She said she learned that no matter how good or bad, how happy, how sad, life goes on.  People come, people pass on and through it all, life goes on.

Sending you blessings of love and gratitude from Sterrett, Alabama!

Charity