Wednesday Shades of Blue

Have you ever noticed how many different shades of blue a Blue Jay is made up of. I briefly glimpsed a link to an article the other day, but got distracted and never got to reading it. A couple of Blue Jay's have been frequenting my backyard and I have the perfect window to watch them. They are very pretty with their different shades of blue.

This week I've felt a few different shades of blue. First, PMS always seems to rain on the parade, so hey I got that going for me. Second, Monday was the anniversary of my Grandma and Uncle Brian's deaths. It's not as if I was all of a sudden overwhelmed. I wasn't. I think about them just about every day. I can feel a little down any time, missing them. Third, yesterday would have been my Uncle Brad's birthday. We lost him in October of last year.

 It's interesting to me the different shades of blue or grief we experience. Grief changes as time goes by and according to what we do with it. It becomes less overwhelming and distorting. We find away to accept it and make peace with it. It doesn't in anyway cheapen it or erase it. It becomes less of a wound and more of a scar. Grief not only changes, but we change too. Anything we experience changes us, but what we hope for is that it makes us better. Maybe it makes us more in tune to things. Maybe we become more patient and compassionate. Maybe we learn to count our blessings and slow our roll. Hopefully it grows our faith and anchors our hope.

There are many beautiful shades of blue. I find comfort in the photographs, joy in the memories, and pain in the separation. There are tears full of love and the laughter that once sustained us. Knowing Heaven is their home and they are free from this place and it's entanglements, is well with my soul.

-helmschick