OK, this is not my usual thing, but this was sent to me this morning and I found it strengthening. I hope you do too. Peace, Sallie
I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, 'I love you and I wishyou enough'. The daughter replied, 'Mom , our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom'. They kissed and the daughter left.
The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'. Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, But why is this a forever good-bye?'. 'I amold and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said. '
When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?'. She began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone'. She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more. 'When we said , 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them'. Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
She then began to cry and walked away. They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them but then an entire life to forget them.
High School Reunion
I know I haven't written here in a long time - been editing and writing until my hands ached and my chair and I had a custom fit! In the midst of our long, hot summer, my husband and I went to our high school reunion in San Antonio. We graduated from high school in the Philippines in 1972 and
occasionally many different years get together in various places for a party. This was the first one I ever went to and had a completely wonderful time. I met old friends, made new ones, was glad I married my high school sweet heart. We took Amtrak - and other than running perpetually 3-5 hours late, really had a great time. This is the first vacation we've taken in years and it was amazing to see that human beings that emerged as the days passed and we had more to do or talk about than work, schedules, or
stressors. The last time we saw most of these people at the reunion, we were 18. As the week unfolded, we talked about our life together and I knew, once more, that I made a very good choice in the man I am spending the rest of my life with. We're certainly not the same people we were in 1972 (thank God), but the foundation of the odd events that brought us, brought an entire generation to a place so far from home, shaped us, made us strong, tore us down, built us up, and prepared us for the amazing journey that we're on. Now, back to work!
www.committedtofreedom.org
Almost There!
I hesistate to speak definitevly, but I think we're almost finished with our move. A few more boxes to get from point A to point B and then a cleaning of our old office, and we're out of that one. Of course, we still have all the boxes to unpack at our new office and find a home for all of our stuff (where did it all come from??), but at least we'll be working out of one location this week. Just in time for our 6th birthday on Friday! Yep, six years ago this coming Friday, Committed to Freedom incorporated and formed an independent 501(c)(3). What began in the early 1990's under the umbrella of Teen Challenge of Arkansas finally grew to become independent then. We've come a long way, but still have a long way to go. One trend I'd like to end is that this is our 5th office move in 6 years. Ugh.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Mother's Day 1998
It was ten years ago this Mother's Day that I was in
Sedona, Arizona, in the desert with my beautiful daughter. It was the end of a long, hellish experience of broken family and shattered dreams. Through many days of walking her trails, meeting those who were in the desert with her, and getting her Jeep ready to come home, we prepared to come home together and begin the difficult process of repairing our relationship, our home, our lives. Before we left
Sedona, my daughter and I went to church together. It was Mother's Day. I have never had a more extravagant Mother's Day before or since. Today, I thank God for our restored relationship, our second chance.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Lightning and Moving
Last night, just as we were moving our office furniture, a huge thunderstorm moved in - terrible lightning. Our new office is on the 2nd floor of a downtown historic building, and we thought we had the parking situation covered, but that plan fell through when our spot for the truck was taken. Everything was soaked - us, the great guys from Teen Challenge who helped us move, and our furniture. Nothing's easy I guess. Today, we move boxes of books, supplies, and work to get our office back in some kind of working order. This office is smaller than our last one, so we've got a challenge as to where we store much of our inventory and retreat equipment. One challenge at a time. Computers, our network, and our internet situation should be back up to speed by tomorrow evening.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Nashville and Moving
I returned from Nashville after I taught a Beyond Abuse seminar for Midtown Fellowship. The seminar went great and I was so happy to see a room full of both men and women who were determined to learn important new tools for their own journeys or those of their friends or partners.
We started packing a bit yesterday in preparation for moving our offices this week. Today is the heavy packing and preparation day and tomorrow evening, a moving crew from Teen Challenge will swoop in and get our furniture up to our new office. We have been deeply moved by the sacrificial financial support we have received from great friends of our work. It is expensive to move - to get services and utilities changed over, etc. We are so encouraged by those who have join us in making this possible.
Well, I've got on my jeans and Tshirt on and will probably put in a very long day for the next few days. We'll all be glad when this is over!
www.committedtofreedom.org
Emergency Move
Ugh. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we're having to move our offices next week. This puts a much greater burden on us financially, and we're already strained as it is. I leave for Nashville, TN in a few hours to teach a Beyond Abuse seminar for Midtown Fellowship. I get back late Sunday and then we move next week. All this in the middle of grad school, preparing for a retreat in June, working on a new retreat manual, and putting together information for the publisher of my new book, Connected Voices.
Oh! That's a really big development! I have a contract with NavPress to publish my book!! It's a deal and we hope this will be on bookshelves (or at least released) by March 2009. It's going to be a full year, to say the least.
The new office space will probably work much better for us, but right now, the idea of moving an entire office (AGAIN!!) just makes me tired! If you can help us with monthly support to offset these additional expenses, we could really use the help. Thanks!
www.committedtofreedom.org
