Skip to main content

Plain Everyday and Amazing People

Today I had the opportunity to meet some very amazing people.  Everyday people.  Hardworking.  People who have not just survived but have thrived.

I met a father today who struggled with learning until he learned about dyslexia and then finished his BS degree.  This very intelligent Dad and Mom raising their children to love the Lord, count their blessings, work hard and put family first.  They have not let labels, distances, struggles or illness to derail them. Amazing.

Sitting at the table tonight with two cancer survivors.  I'm so blessed to be part of the Relay for Life this year.  So many people have or are fighting life threatening illnesses that try to steal not just their health but their spiritual, emotional, relational and mental life.  These two people at the table who have not just survived cancer but are living passionately and with purpose.  They could have plopped down on their couch and just let life pass by waiting for others to keep living.  But they didn't.  They fought.  They cried.  They wanted to die.  But they chose the most courageous thing-to live-to really live as long as God would allow. Amazing.

One of my youth members dropped by my office for a glass of water after running to the lake and back in the VERY hot afternoon.  This is a young man that struggled with depression so badly during middle school.  He was the laughing one and the class clown.  To keep everyone from seeing his pain.  Not too many people saw past that to the heart of gold and will of steal behind those walls.  His leadership ability and passion for God is humbling to me. Amazing.

And in my home.  My husband came home after work today as surgery technician and while I was gone-tore apart our son's pickup doors and replaced the hinges.  Then he hauled downed limbs to the trash and mowed our jungle of grass.  Finally he had done the dishes that had grown in our sink.  AMAZING!


Comments

  1. Pat SchulzJuly 1, 2011 at 7:13 AM

    Thanks, Heather! There is much to appreciate in each individual we meet.
    Have you read this poem? To Be of Use
    It fits so well with your thoughts, I think.
    http://poemhunter.com/poem/to-be-of-use/ by Marge Percy
    I have always loved this poem and I think you would too. Pat S.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heather Ann GillJuly 1, 2011 at 11:13 AM

    Thank you for that Pam. I love this!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Starting a Journey

September 3, 2010 Originally posted How to Begin a Journey 1. Pick a destination or simply start. 2. Plan a detailed itinerary or just take the first step. 3. Pack everything or travel lightly. I am choosing to just begin. To leave behind the baggage, pick up a day pack, and go. Several nights before we moved to Ogallala, I was praying about the transition when I heard that still, small voice of God. In that moment, I knew He heard my Heart's Cry. He hears every whispered plea, every unspoken longing. If I truly sit with that truth, it humbles me. What courage, boldness, passion, and decisiveness I have when I remember: He never leaves or forsakes me. He provides for my every need according to His riches in glory. My hope is to encourage you He hears your Heart's Cry too.
2 comments
Read more

1940 Canned Apple Butter: Family Root Cellar

I loved exploration as a child.  From opening the door and going down the stairs to get something from my Grandma's root cellar or exploring old homesteads while checking cows.  I credit my Mom with teaching us to appreciate those things that represented the people who had gone before us. When I moved with my husband and boys to a house on the family ranch-I began exploring immediately.  This was the house my Aunt and Uncle lived in during my childhood.  My Grandparents had lived there and many other families dating back to 1900 when it was built.   With two little boys in tow, I made my way to the root cellar and found a treasure cove.  Old text books belonging to the original family who had been a teacher, the original medicine cupboard, tools, trash and memorabilia.   I felt like an archeologist sifting through layers of debris representing generations and culture.  And I was.  I hauled truckloads of trash to the dump (some...
4 comments
Read more

Diabetes-Opened to Disease OR Open to Connecting to my Strengths

I've tried living in denial for two years after the big D diagnoses was handed over.  Honestly, I just don't want to talk about it.  Outwardly seemly calm and disconnected from it.  Inwardly terrified. As a plant that is stressed is open to disease, injury and death so to our bodies are.  I opened myself up to this.  Stress, lack of sleep, bad nutrition, overweight and lack of exercise.  For some reason I believed that if I ran fast enough and worked hard enough, I would outrun my family genes.  The tiny room in the back of my brain locked with a key has kept the fear of this disease at bay even though I could hear its screaming when life quieted down. My Aunt died piece by piece to this disease.  First a heart attack and quadruple by-pass.  Then a toe.  Next a foot.  Legs came next along with more heart attacks.  Kidneys shutting down.  She died very young. When I was little, my Aunt Ally gave herself s...
4 comments
Read more