Loretta has cancer. She is now stage IV. She commented on yesterdays post that she regrets not taking more family photos with her daughter when she was healthy and well. In her own words:
Don’t let the years go by, thinking you’ll wait until you lose a few pounds or get less busy. Let someone else hold the camera sometimes and get in the shots with your kids and spouse. It’s definitely worth it!
Wisdom pouring out from suffering. I know she was just talking about photos. But doesn’t that wisdom apply to so much in life? Don’t wait to live. It can be scary to live in the moment, to trust God with our now.
Hannah Whittal Smith says it is easier to trust God with the keeping of our future than it is to commit to Him our present. The future is obviously out of my control, out there and ambiguous. But my present? It’s right here in my hands. It is tempting to think that because we can see the present, we can master it. Wisdom says otherwise. Unwrap it, yes. Enjoy it, yes. Plan, sure. But my attempts to control or manipulate this present moment have many times kept me from living it.
All that to say, the comments are my favorite part of this blog. They can get ugly when Anonymous shows up, but for the most part I am blessed and encouraged on a daily basis by the words and insight you all share. So thank you. Now go hug your mom.
um, can you write a book please. I need this wisdom.
see you tomorrow.
love,
sister
God bless you Loretta and Emily… I so desperately needed this. I have been completely drowning in the loss of our twin girls and am just at a particularly dark place in my life. It is SO scary to live in this moment – to trust God that he knows why this is for the best. I so want to be able to make this all go away and not be living in this moment. You both have absolutely inspired me and reminded me that it’s ok to feel sadness but to trust God…
Thank you for writing this… Profound wisdom coming from suffering.
xoxoxoxo
I would stand in line to buy that book.
For me, it’s not only an attempt to control my present that holds me back. It’ fear; that old what if. “What if they laugh at me?” “What if I’m not good at it.” I guess that’s a way of controlling it, too, though. If I don’t leap, I can keep myself from falling. And failing. And being a part of things.
As much as you like the comments, I like reading what you write!
Thanks so much for posting this! I am definitely guilty of always being behind the camera. Inspiring words, for sure!
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mama’s!
~Karla @ It’s The Little Things…
Beautiful! I told my husband about your post yesterday and all of the comments, he just said, “how sad, I promise to take more!”
you get mean comments? i’m sad about that.
Another book buyer here! You have so much wisdom and, apparently, so does Loretta. I appreciate that she took time to share and thank you for letting us know so we can pray for her.
Who could possibly leave mean comments? Let me at em! I mean, really, you offer nothing but encouragement and insights into real living. What bad is there to say about that???
Awww…that is so wonderful! There’s just something about your mom. It doesn’t matter how old you get.
Yesterday, I was suddenly hit by something horrible. The flu? Maybe. But whatever it was completely incapacitated me all day. And the first thing I did was to call my mom. And what is it about illness that makes us call our moms “Mommy”?
I love my children more than life itself, and it’s crazy to me that *I* am the mommy now. Wow. What joy. What responsibility. What bittersweetness all at once.
However, right now, I wish those “precious” boys (LOL) would just go down for their naps so that “Mommy” could go crawl into the bed….
WHAT A GORGEOUS SITE!
Thank you for sharing, I saw your pictures and though you might be interested on entering our photo challenge, http://everydaymmoms.blogspot.com/2009/04/picture-psalm-challenge.html
Hope you do, I’d love to see you there.
Blessings,
What a beautiful reminder. Loretta and her family are certainly in our prayers.
My one regret in life is not having lived with more courage in the moment: the words I didn’t say, the hug I didn’t give, the spontaneity I pushed down. My mom has been gone nearly two years, and I am so glad we lived so fully together and need this wisdom you’ve shared today to remind me to live that way with all the ones I love.
WHEN YOUR RIGHT, YOUR RIGHT. THANK YOU LORETTA. I’LL BE PRAYING FOR YOU FRIEND.
HUGS FROM MAINE
Loved this post Emily! Thanks so much for the reminder.
I also loved your last post and I’m actually going to try and get myself in some pictures.
Right on. I am in a situation currently where I desperately want to tighten the grip of control on my steering wheel. I’m white knuckled! I remind myself every day to take a deep breath and step back a little, that life is going to play out the way it is supposed to if I have a little faith.
I’ll be praying for Loretta.
-Heather
I too will be praying for Loretta as she journeys through cancer…thank you for your wisdom today…I have been trying to appreciate all those little nuances in every member of our family. It’s all the little moments that mean the most and the ones we treasure when our loved ones are gone. Thanks for your wisdom!
You’re wise beyond your years. Thanks for sharing that!
Yes, you and Loretta are right. I wish I could hug my mom….thankfully I have a fabulous mother in law, but my mom died in
93 when I was only about 30. I sure miss having a mom. But I agree with you wholeheartedly that we must live out LOUD in the moment we are in and enjoy it for we are not promised any day past today, nor can we live in regret for the way yesterday was. It’s gone, so move on and live today.
Thanks for sharing, and I”m waiting for the book, too. Would you autograph mine please??
Suzanne
Oh my goodness, ladies! You all have touched my heart today with your kindness, your prayers and your decisions to treasure all the moments of your lives more fully. I always wanted–and tried–to live a life with as few regrets as possible, but it’s just so easy to get caught up in the everyday routines of life and forget to savor every moment. Even now, wrapped up in chemo and tests and doctor’s appointments, I tend to forget to ENJOY these times with my family. So, I’m joining in with everyone else in trying harder.
I’ll lift you all up in prayer, too. Crissie, especially–may the Lord envelop you in His love and peace and help you through your grieving time. I cannot imagine your pain, but I pray God will ease it as time goes by, dear.
~~Loretta in GA
Both yesterday and today you have so inspired me! (And I LOVE both photographs.) Loretta’s comment from yesterday also strongly struck me. So today, I handed off my camera for a bit at the preschool Mother’s Day tea so someone could take pictures of me and my daughter. She was squirming and frowning and turning away, but I am there. And we are together. And that’s what matters.
Praying for you, Loretta. And thank you, Emily, for such wonderful wisdom and insight.
Happy Mother’s Day!!
I cannot agree more. Your words of wisdom are TIMELESS, Loretta. So is your message, Emily.
Happy Mother’s Day to all!
you are a blessing! Happy mothers day to you.
Yep, if you’re writing the book, I’m buying it. Listen to your sister.
Blessings!
Lisa
Loretta is wise! She sounds like a strong woman! My sister battled through stage 4 cancer! She is a strong woman also! Unlike Loretta she refuses to be photographed. Still to this day.
A few months ago I realized that I was hiding from the camera myself. Who wants to see their fat? So when you posted about gravators I took the plunge! Thanks for this great post. My father has passed away…I still am heartsick that I do not have a picture of him with my little girl. She was just 3 months old when he died. I would add that you should hand write notes to your family. I wish I had more notes of wisdom in my fathers distinct script.
Your posts always make my day. Please publish a book!!
Thank you for this reminder. I’ve been making a conscious effort to regularly “count my blessings” and just finished a post about this the other day, triggered by my daughter’s feelings of “woe is me”.
(And I confess to way too few photographs taken because I just had to “lose a few pounds first”. Those moments with babies, toddlers and tweens never come back. Capture them!)
I include you in today’s blessings, Emily.
Blessings on YOUR day!
Michelle
I’m going to go hug my girls and have breakfast with them!
Amen, Sister! Thanks so much for sharing.
I’ve been thinking about writing something along the same lines on my blog. It will still be a few weeks before it is up, though.
beautiful. just beautiful.
WOW, just got a note from a friend that her husband has the c! Yikes, it’s now hitting home that we (my hubby and I) are THAT age now…. thanks for the reminder about the photos. I can’t stand looking at my photos now but this puts it in perspective.
Living now to the fullest is a gift we’re born with, but one that gets trained out of us. It’s not always easy to recapture, but it’s worth it.
Beautiful photo, too.
I’ve been waiting for 7 years for Steve and I to lose weight so we could have a tropical honeymoon! I’ve put on another 20!
I can also say that my step-kids lost their mom too early, and yes, it would have been nice to have more pictures for the kids.
I can’t believe you get mean comments. Whoever does it must needs some lovin’.
I am always holding the camera and rarely make it in the pictures. My mom was the same way and I lost her to cancer 15 months ago. I’m sad that I don’t have more pictures with her. I too am always waiting to lose weight or fix my hair. No more…I want my kids to be able to remember me for who I was at that moment. Even if it is 30 pounds over weight wearing a bad ponytail! Happy Mother’s Day!
Wow! Loved that.
Check out a true and inspiring story of a courageous young woman at ivymh.blogspot.com.
This is so absolutely true. I have done this myself for too many years. Too much time has gone by wasted. Thank you for sharing this and I feel blessed to have come across your blog this morning! Sherri