karin madden

  • Home
  • Sunrise With A Six Pack (Blog)
  • Meet Karin
    • Truth In The Details {4×4 of 4 things about me}
    • Hear My Story
    • Food Allergies
      • Recipes for the picky ones
  • 31 Days Series
    • 31 Days of God’s Promises
    • 31 Days of Good Deeds
    • 31 Days Of Walking The Path
  • Essential Oils
    • What’s The Deal With Essential Oils?
  • DIY
    • DIY Deodorant
    • DIY {easy} Facial Toner
    • DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent
  • Contact
  • Subscribe and Free e-book

March 6, 2013 by Karin 2 Comments

And Then There Was Life

It’s only Tuesday.

I keep thinking it’s Thursday.

Not that it really makes much difference.

I just lose track.

It’s only been two days.  

My life friend lost her mother.  Her mother was a second mom to me in college.

It’s only been 3 months.

Her dear daddy passed.  Just 3 months before her mom.

It’s been almost a year.

Our third musketeer went home to Him.  She was too young… and her kids are just… kids.

Then there’s the little one my family loves so much… my 3-year-old’s bestie.  Her headaches are back.  Her little body fights.  We don’t know if it’s congestion, or the shunt.

Then there’s the anniversary of her mama’s passing.  Almost a year ago.  Her family fights on.  Her new mommy warms her new mother arms with little ones.

Then there’s the family who just lost their daddy.  He was too  young.  His children may not even remember him.  His wife…  I can hardly bear the thought.  It’s just too much.

Story after story after story.

Then the news.  The mess out there.  The fighting and bickering… and we are on the same side.  I think.

Sometimes it’s just too much.

My dear friend… she can barely muster the will to go to her own mom’s funeral.  It’s all just. too. much.

And we feel lost… and alone… and broken… and afraid… and just plain exhausted.

Then I read the most beautiful story about sheep.  A story about what sheep do… and how the shepherd comes for the neglected ones.  He comes for the broken, lost, and abandoned ones.  He cares for them and releases them.  These little sheep love him the most.  But, he loves them all the same.

He brought us light.  He saw that it was good.  Sometimes we get lost in the shadows.

He brought us love.  Sometimes we accept it.  Sometimes we are just too busy to notice… or too blind to see it… or too hurting to feel it.

life

The morning my friend’s mother passed into the Ages, her two young daughters were baptized.  They didn’t know their Nanny had passed.  The baptism was scheduled weeks before.  There are no coincidences.  Only God’s timing.  Even when it hurts.

When the girls heard of their grandmother passing… the words of their daddy,

the morning your names are written in the book of the Lamb…

is the morning your Nanny passes into His arms.

There are no coincidences.

He brought us light.

He came here.  He died here.  He rose again here.

He brought us life.

Sometimes it’s all just too much.

But, just when it feels like it’s all just too much… He brings us life.

He brings us a new life.

When we feel like we can’t take one more step… he picks us up…

and breathes life.

 

Romans 6:3-4

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Karin signature

 

 

Filed Under: A Day in the Life, Faith Tagged With: faith, grief, pain of loss

September 24, 2012 by Karin 2 Comments

Catch and Release ~ when it’s time to let go

They sat behind me.  A group of pretty young women.  The familiarity between them evident… a comfort level between friends… co-workers.  Common souls with clinicians’ hearts, spending days… years together.

A conference.  I’ve been to countless… absorbing and re-absorbing medical details, clinical jargon so familiar to me.  A life before my mama life.  A momentary re-awakening to hibernating areas of my brain.

These young women… seemed almost like girls to me.  I smiled to myself.  They looked almost familiar… a look in the rearview mirror.

I peered to the empty seat next to me.  Searching.  But for a moment, a tugging memory… the voice in my mind almost audible.

Girl, what do you want to do tonight?

The voice vanished.  I looked back, smiled.  The plans would be theirs.  My friend, my school mate, my comrade in the joy and madness of clinical practice… therapy with the injured… my pretty young friend… she is gone.

Our friendship began in college, continued through years of graduate studies, carried over into the workforce… in the same hospital.  We were sisters in arms.  We worked, we played… our group of friends… spanned decades.

Funny, how a moment jolts a memory… in just a blink.  A laugh between friends… whispers of agreement… arms of comfort.  These young women.  They reminded me of us.

A thought.  I scrambled for my phone.  The text.  When was it?  I had saved it.  A treasure for just this moment.  Searching.  There!

Girl   i was just texting to find out when you were having the baby and i found this    congrats

she is gorgeous

ill call soon

She never did.  It was the only picture of my baby that she ever saw.

Her sister would be the one to kiss my baby’s head… a kiss passed on from her auntie… this kiss given at my friend’s funeral.

I smiled, as if nudged on the arm by my invisible companion in this room.

The text was a year ago… to the day.  I just wanted to remind you to look.

The last months, a struggle.  My friend, disappeared into His arms.

I can’t help but hold on the last text.  The last voice mails.  It is odd to hear her voice… but, I listen.  Just every once in a while.  I miss her voice.

Pictures I have seen.  Her loving husband.  He fought so hard, right by her side.  He loved her well.  A dad filling shoes of a father and mother with grace.  The pictures… a beautiful smile next to his.  The face of a pretty woman peering through the lens… leaning on his shoulder.  It is not the face of my friend.  She does remind me of her a bit.  Bright smile… the dark hair… shining eyes.

This a young mother… walking through her own loss.  Raising young children without their dad.

The two smiles… a visible comfort.

It is an odd feeling… this joy… and pain… all at the same time.

Joy to see his face lit in happiness.  The sorrow on that face had lingered in my mind.  The prayers from my own little ones… for the comfort of this dad… traveling alone down this path of parenthood.

Pain, too.  She is really gone.  Something so suddenly… final.  A gift as I hear another whisper…

She is with Me

Do not be afraid

The joy swells over the pain like a crashing wave.  A gift from Him.  These two souls to meet.  All in His timing.

A message… from the third of our musketeer pack…

he has a girlfriend.  Is that ok?

This mixture of joy and pain running through her mind as well.

it’s ok.  it’s God’s timing.  He’s better at it than we are.

The joy.  The joy in this very truth.  He is better at it than we are.  Trust.

He will teach us… to catch… and… to release.

 

Psalm 62:8

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Filed Under: Faith, Friendship, Joy, Mercy Tagged With: faith, friendship, joy, letting go, pain of loss, trusting God

Meet Karin

Hi! My name is Karin Madden. Writer. Warrior wife. Mom of six pack. Homeschooler. German-blooded southerner. Welcome to the place where I explore what it means to grow stronger - spirit, soul, and body. I write to inspire and encourage - to remind you we are not alone. By being bold with grace and speaking truth in love, we can become who we are meant to be. I'm glad you are here.

Connect With Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search the Sunrise

What I Write

Sunrise Archives

Pinning at Sunrise

Visit Karin's profile on Pinterest.

Recent Sunrise Posts

  • When You Have A Promise To Keep November 9, 2016
  • When You Are In The Secret Place April 21, 2016
  • When You Need To Hear – Do Not Be Afraid April 6, 2016
  • The One List We Need To Write January 1, 2016
  • The Dance May 29, 2015

Sunrise on Facebook

Sunrise on Facebook

Copyright © 2025 · Executive Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in