2016 in Review
Exhausting. Gut wrenching. Soul stretching. Rewarding. A few words to describe this awfully painful and heartbreakingly beautiful year. I would have never asked for the refining trials that burnt me to ashes, but as I have attempted to rise once more, I feel a flutter of Pheonix-like wings beating in my breast. I am anxious to soar high on the currents of these redefining struggles for the rest of my life.
My traditionally year in review video needed somehow to encapsulate that message: beauty in the midst of pain. I usually have to listen to several of my favorite songs to find the one that seems to "fit" for that year, but I knew almost immediately which pieces could speak of our aching and our joy. I felt that my old favorite, "All About Your Heart" by Mindy Gledhill had been written just for us and I wept several times as I worked on the video at the perfection of her lyrics:
I could have stopped the video there, but I didn't feel that ending on that somber note would account for all the joy that my little family brings into my life despite the challenges of losing our little Aiden. Baby Alan has been the soothing balm that has brightened up our family and kept me from sinking into darkness. Thus, the lyrics from Joshua Radin's "We Are Okay" seemed to sum up the final verse of 2016.
And we are! We are still standing. We are still okay. We wish our Aiden could have come to earth to join our family, but we know we will be reunited with him at a future day. We are at peace and our faith still burns bright. I am not one bit sad to see 2016 go, but I am thankful for the multitude of lessons it taught me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG2SDsSjlT4
My traditionally year in review video needed somehow to encapsulate that message: beauty in the midst of pain. I usually have to listen to several of my favorite songs to find the one that seems to "fit" for that year, but I knew almost immediately which pieces could speak of our aching and our joy. I felt that my old favorite, "All About Your Heart" by Mindy Gledhill had been written just for us and I wept several times as I worked on the video at the perfection of her lyrics:
You're a butterfly held captive
Small and safe in your cocoon
Go on you can take your time
Time is said to heal all wounds
Oh, I've loved you from the start
In every single way
And more each passing day
You are brighter than the stars
Believe me when I say
It's not about your scars
It's all about your heart
Like a lock without a key
Like a mystery without a clue
There is no me if I cannot have you
Oh, I've loved you from the start
In every single way
And more each passing day
You are brighter than the stars
Believe me when I say
It's not about your scars
It's all about your heart
I could have stopped the video there, but I didn't feel that ending on that somber note would account for all the joy that my little family brings into my life despite the challenges of losing our little Aiden. Baby Alan has been the soothing balm that has brightened up our family and kept me from sinking into darkness. Thus, the lyrics from Joshua Radin's "We Are Okay" seemed to sum up the final verse of 2016.
With faith we would not fade away
But we are okay, we are alright
We sing very loud
Yeah, we're singing
We are okay, we are alright
Close our eyes, close our mouth
Yeah we shut our eyes though we're in doubt
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