Sisterhood Of Widows S.O.W.

Good Evening!!

I can't express how excited I am to start my own blog.  I have been wanting to do this for a long time and have put a lot of thought into this.  I don't want it to be stiff or boring, I want it to be inspiring and educational.  But the most important attribute that I want my blogs to have is my love for Jesus.  He is the reason that I am still on this earth and writing this.  He is the reason why I can get up every morning and function as well as I do every day.  If left up to me, I would never get out of bed and face each day without this man in the above picture. 

His name is Kirk.  I met him at the tender age of 19.  He had very long hair and played guitar in a metal band.  The year was 1987 and metal was all the rage!!  I was working at a convenience store a mile from my house when he came into the store after moving into the neighborhood.  It took us about 4 months but we finally started dating in January of 1988.  We dated off and on and finally married in June of 1993.  Eight years later we had our beautiful daughter Emily.  We were a happy family, of course we had our ups and downs as every family does.  On June 25. 2011 Kirk was called Home.  It was a sudden death and we have been on our journey of grief since that day.  It's been hard at times, we have had a lot of bad days, but we have also had a lot of good days.  Every journey is different, as individual as each human. But we learn to live with the grief, it never goes away.  Some days it's a gnawing reminder that likes to eat at you, other days it's full of good and fun memories of our loved ones.  Each of our journeys are just that, our own journey.  Right from the start, I choose to lean on Jesus and to seek counseling for myself and my daughter from our church.  We started our sessions a little over a week after Kirk's death and I am so blessed to have made that decision.  God pointed us to our church Emmanuel for help and blessed us with our counselor Debbie.  She is a godly woman that loves, cares, and understands broken lives and hearts. 

I wanted to start this blog along with a Facebook page and a group to try and help other widows with their journeys.  I struggled to find a name for my group and this morning I came up with Sisterhood Of Widows, aka, S.O.W.  The Bible verse that I am using to support my group is Psalm 126:5-6 N.I.V. "Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them."  This verse is telling us that our tears of sorrow will one day be turned to joy.  God is able to turn tragedy into joy, we just have to be patient and lean on God for strength.  And that is what I want all of you to know.  God will turn our grief and tears into hope and hope will lead to joy.  God loves us and wants us to experience the joy we were created to have.  Out of our tragedies we can survive and thrive and encourage others to do the same.  With God's help, you can get through your pain and sorrow.  In Revelation 21:4 NIV we are told "He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  Wow can you imagine being in Heaven and not ever shedding a tear ever again?  How incredible will that be?  There have been times that I just don't know how I can produce any more water from my eyes, but it happens.  I cannot wait for the day when I don't worry or have to think about any of my loved ones passing away.  We will never get a dreaded phone call about a death.  Jesus died on a cross after being brutally whipped, scorned, and nailed to wood to free all of mankind from sin and spiritual death.  Jesus rose after three days and HE LIVES!!!  And we can too!!!  If you don't know Jesus as your personal Savior, please consider learning about Jesus and reading His story in the Bible.  Ahhh sisters it's incredible. 

I hope you find this first big post helpful and just know that there is hope and life left to be lived.  I know the void you are feeling right now.  I live with that void every day.  But Jesus can fill that void with love, hope and joy if you let Him!!!  I am so very thankful that I choose light instead of dark.  Psalm 119:105 NIV tells us "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path." 

Good night and thank you for reading!!

Angela