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"We can only treasure the learning that comes with the disappointments, and love our dear ones for who they are." So beautifully said, Shirley!
Once we can just get over ourselves and the fact that things didn't turn out the way we thought they should, we can move on and start getting to the 'good part.' We're then freed up to look at things in a new way.
My name is Lori from Gouldsboro, PA. We all want the best of everything in life, a life of good health and happiness. But we never get exactly what we want. This awesome story hits home for me in several ways. My order wasn't for my son to quit college after 3 1/2 years, only 1 semester to go, to leave me with a debt i'll be paying probably the rest of my life. My order wasn't for my son's girlfriend to get pregnant and me to be a grandmother at a young age... but.... the most precious part of my life now is my angel, my 1 year old granddaughter Cora Lynn.
The order I definately did not put in for was to watch my dad, my hero, struggle for every breath of air, then after 13 years pass away from COPD/Emphysema.
But we do learn many lessons in life. And we learn to cope with what has been handed to us. Whether it is a large college bill, a beautiful granddaughter, or the devastating loss of a loved one.
We all have to accept what has been placed on our plate and deal with it the best way that we can...... This story tells us that whether we have been dealt with a family disappointment or a chronic health problem.... we do need to make the best of our life...we only live once.
I have made the best of mine by seeing my precious angel Cora as much as I can. And as I could not help my dad with his disease, I had to put my grief in an effort to help others with COPD, by launching my own website In Memory of him. We should all learn a valuable lesson from this story. Thank you Jane!
Thank you,
Lori Palermo
www.loveyourlungsbreatheforlife.com
My grandfather may not have been formally educated, but he was nonetheless a compassionate, wise man. Rarely did a day pass without him uttering a story, parable, or thoughful reflection about some topical event. I remember many of them, but here is one that seems so relevant to Jane Martin's marvelous article, I Didn't Order This LIfe.
"If we could all hang our troubles on the line, we would soon each run to grab back our own."
It was his witty way of saying, "No matter how bad things seem, someone out there is worse off than you, so count your blessings, not your sorrows."
That might have worked for Grandpa Isaac, but as much as I try, it doesn't always work for me. Yet I have learned from this uneven life that when stuff happens - I mean the stuff I surely haven't hoped for - I often learn something that benefits me later on. So I try to ask myself, what life lesson could I learn from this experience? Answering that question has helped me become a stronger, more resilient person. Perhaps that is one reason roadblocks are thrown in our path.
Lois W. Stern
Author of SEX, LIES AND COSMETIC SURGERY
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