5 Friday Favorites: March 29, 2024

It's time for my Friday link up with  A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals. 

On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick 

Hello and Happy Friday to you, Friends. I'm back in Virginia after being in Texas visiting my family last week which marked a year since we lost my mom. It was a really nice week with my Dad. And my Mom showed up for us in the most delightful way. I'm happy to be home and feeling a renewed sense of hope. It's odd and I'm not sure why, but I'll take it because hope has been hard to come by in the past year. I'm not sure I fully recognized how hopeless I have been, but when you get it back, you realize how difficult a life is without it. I know that grief will walk with me forever, but I feel like hope is chasing after me right now. And I'm allowing her to catch up.

Here are some favorite things from the week.

1. A Pedicure with Dad and Dutch Tulips by OPI

My dad, sister and I had a mini "spa day" last week and got pedicures together. I don't think I've ever gotten a pedicure with my dad, but I highly recommend it.

I am not a huge fan of pink, but I found this really spring-y pinkish-red polish by OPI called Dutch Tulips and I love it.

2. Lenetta 2 Piece Lounge Set

I'm a sucker for a set these days - it's like the grown up version of Granimals and I'm here for it. I saw this 2 piece lounge set on Amazon and it could be risky, but the reviews are pretty good. It comes in so many cute colors. You can also get 15% off right now when you click the coupon box. 

3. Anthropologie Bettina Tiered Shirt Dress

I want to wear this dress on Easter Sunday. I will not be wearing this dress on Easter Sunday. I don't have it and also I'm not 7 feet tall and the short people sizes are gone. *sigh*

4. Thief by Third Day

Every single year on Good Friday I share this song by Third Day. It is told from the perspective of the man who hung on the cross next to Jesus. It is one of the most powerful and moving songs I've ever heard.

5. A Hello from Heaven

I've tried to find signs from my mom all year. I think I've gotten a few -  Drew's homerun last year seemed pretty otherworldly - but to tell the truth, I've been disappointed. It also happened to be an insanely busy year with graduations and empty nests and helping my children move to and from various states in the Union. Also, I can do a pretty bang-up job of distracting myself from silence and solitude, thus avoiding actual feelings and the chance to look beyond the task right in front of me. 

I'm not sure how to tell this story or even if I should since it's personal and special to my family and me. But what I have found is that in this last year of crushing doubt and grief, I have been drawn to stories of others who have experienced loss and bitterness, but have also found moments that give them hope that God is real and faithful and present. I've been frustrated and depleted this year. In the end though, I have hung on tight with both hands to my faith because as Peter says to Jesus in the Gospel of John, "Lord, where the heck else am I gonna go?" (I'm paraphrasing.)

So this story and these pictures are of course, for my family and me so that we can look back at them. And they are for you, reader. Especially if you have walked this path. It is to remind all of us to keep looking.

We went to the church. We sat on the benches in the beautiful outdoor garden near the columbarium where her ashes are kept. I sat there. I stared at her name. I tried to feel peace or sadness or anger or anything at all. I felt nothing and to be honest I wondered, "What is the required time to sit here on the anniversary of my mom's death? Is there a rule? Do I have to wait for something to happen? Might I be here all night? What am I missing? This is weird and I need a drink."

In the meantime, my sister had walked away into the grassy field beyond where I sat. In a few minutes I heard her say, "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Look."

Listen, there was some science to it, I'm sure. But it hadn't rained a drop all day. And when we looked up we saw a prismy-rainbowy-type opening in the sky. (This is obviously the scientific term for it.) Shooting out of both sides of this prismy-rainbowy-type opening and making a circle around the sun was some other bright kind of orbit-y light thing.

Again, based on my vocabulary, you are sure to find my next published work in the latest issue of Scientific American. Anyway, then we looked directly up and there was a rainbow straight over our heads.

And I couldn't speak. I just laughed and cried and laughed some more. I could have stared up at that beautiful "whatever-the-heck-it-was" forever, but it was so bright I kept having to keep my hands up to keep from going blind. 

Y'all. I know. I know that someone could explain it away. They could tell me about atmospheres and weather patterns and reflective light. Whatever. That's fine.

I don't care because all I could say through my giggling was "Hey, Mom."

Today, on Good Friday, as I remember those moments, I am overcome by the verses from 1 Corinthians 15:  "Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?"

I believe in science and physics and chemistry and all of that stuff. But my family and I don't need to understand the physics of what happened in that sky. We will walk into church this weekend to celebrate the risen Christ and I will feel the words of Pope John Paul II deep in my bones, "We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song." 

Last year, I was a mess of tears and sorrow on Resurrection Sunday as it came only two weeks after her death. On Sunday, I hope it will be different because I am still an Easter person. And this year, I will sing. 

Have a blessed weekend.

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