I’ve been told by multiple people over the years that I should write a blog. Evidently they think the things I think and say should be heard by others. I’ve always shrugged it off thinking, what makes me so special that what I have to say needs to be heard?
Then this April I became a Widow. Suddenly, tragically, shockingly. My husband Terry, MY TERRY, the absolute love of my life, whom I not only loved, but still really liked, collapsed and died here at our home. That day began the end of one life and the beginning of another. It began my descent into the deepest darkest places I’ve ever found myself, and it began my earnest and painful wrestling with my faith and my God.
In the months since that day I’ve not only learned alot about God,myself, and my children, but also about Terry. One of the things we found after he died was a journal he wrote in. He wasn’t one who wrote in a journal, and this one only had a few entries. He’d been having a particularly difficult year and decided he needed to take control of his attitude and he wrote down the things he was grateful for - His God, His Wife, and His Children. One of the things he wrote in his Wife section was “ She has helped me learn People are More Important than objects or events and that time spent with a person is the most precious of gifts”. He truly believed that and took it to heart. So much so that he made a label with the phrase People are More Important and put it on our front door to see every time we left the house and he also put one on his desk calendar at work to remind himself there as well. You see, the thing is, it wasn’t always easy for him. He was a goal oriented person and particular about keeping his possessions clean and in good order. So interruptions to his schedule, a dent in the car, clean laundry that couldn’t make it out of the basket into the closet could often really frustrate him. On the other hand, I’m not quite so type A - so what if the laundry is spread all over, the table is a mess , the toys are scattered across the room??? It’s because I’d spent 3 hrs on the phone with a friend in distress, took the kids to the park, fed everyone and sat and cuddled with my hubby. As we grew together and found balance in each other, I learned to appreciate the calmness that comes with a cleaner space, and he learned that sometimes tending to the people around us means messes elsewhere, the messes can always be cleaned up, but the people may not always be there. And so People Are More Important became our family creed. When I would be frustrated about not getting my errands done for the day because the kids needed more attention - he’d remind me. And when I dented the car and called crying begging him not to be too upset, I’m pretty sure he reminded himself, I was More Important than an unscathed vehicle.
After Terry died, I posted on facebook, this creed that he chose to be intentional about in his life, and others were immediately inspired. They shared where he showed that to be true in their lives and his interactions with them. As I have continued to wrestle with and embrace the new direction God has chosen to lead me, I’ve been more and more convinced it’s time to begin this blog, and so, perhaps, through this blog, People Are More Important I can continue to inspire others to make and keep their people - friends, family,neighbors,strangers, the top priority in their lives.
