From Paradise to Plan B: A Hero's Welcome

The house is decorated...

Sean and JoAnne arrive...

To a warm welcome from grateful friends...

And a very proud family.

We love you Sean and are so glad you are home.

We can never thank you enough for your sacrifice for us all.

About this Blog

We are in the midst of major life changes triggered by the loss of our only son. He died from an epilepsy-related syndrome called SUDEP--Sudden Unexplained Death by Epilepsy. With absolutely no warning, one day he was alive and the next day he was gone. Our hearts are broken.

From the shores of Maui, to the woods of Virginia, to our ultimate destination in Heaven, we are on a difficult journey of discovery. This blog is a form of therapy for us and a place to also count our blessings. It's not what we planned for our lives--Plan A, but instead we are trusting that God has a Plan B.

Quotes I Really Love

"In the end everything will be all right, nothing can harm you permanently; no loss is lasting, no defeat more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement and death will be part of your journey, but the kingdom of God will conquer all of these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever."

-Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

brothers and sisters, the church is not mistaken.
the church awaits with certainty the hour of redemption.
those who have disappeared will reappear.
the sorrows of these mothers will be turned into easter.
the affliction of this people,which knows not where it goes amid so much affliction, will become easter resurrection
if we join ourselves to christ and hope in him.

Archbishop Oscar Romero

“God’s will was not hidden somewhere ‘out there’ . . . the situations [in which I found myself] were his will for me. What he wanted was for me to accept these situations as from his hands, to let go of the reins and place myself entirely at his disposal.”

Jesuit Walter Ciszek’s (1904–1983)

Promises We Are Holding On To With All That Is Within Us

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.
Hebrews 6:19

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
John 14:1-3

Mother's Day Poem

Heavy
~ by Mary Oliver

That time
I thought I could not
go any closer to grief
without dying

I went closer,
and I did not die.

Surely God
had His hand in this,

as well as friends.

Still, I was bent,
and my laughter,
as the poet said,

was nowhere to be found.
Then said my friend Daniel
(brave even among the lions),
"It's not the weight you carry

but how you carry it --
books, bricks, grief --
it's all in the way

you embrace it, balance it, carry it

when you cannot, and would not,
put it down."
So I went practicing.
Have you noticed?

Have you heard
the laughter
that comes, now and again,
out of my startled mouth?

How I linger
to admire, admire, admire

the things of this world
that are kind, and maybe

also troubled --
roses in the wind,
the sea geese on the steep waves,
a love to which there is no reply?

From Paradise to Plan B

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

A Hero's Welcome

3 comments:

About this Blog

Our Beloved Son

All Together, Whistler Christmas, 2006

Joey and Mom

Joey and His Dad

Joey and His Adoring Sisters

The Musicians

Joey and Rachel's One Year Van Trip--Alaska to Panama, West Coast to East and back again

What Is SUDEP?

Quotes I Really Love

Promises We Are Holding On To With All That Is Within Us

Mother's Day Poem

"a joey always loves his mama"

Joey's Memorial Blogsite-doubleclick for link

Other Remembering Joey Websites

My Friends and Fellow Grieving Parents

Websites I Like and Use

Blog Archive

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