Falling Forward

I literally fell into a client's house yesterday.  My heel on my high heels got caught in a crack in the threshold of their door frame and I fell into the living room.  I didn't really know the clients so it could have been an interesting first meeting.  But I shook it off, we had a good laugh, and I ended up having a good visit with a really nice family.


This isn't the first mishap I've had in August.  Last week, I was invited to our local Rotary meeting to introduce myself and my new career.  I somehow managed to knock over my full glass of diet mountain dew, drenching the President's binder full of papers.  I definitely broke the ice during that meeting.  I helped clean up the spill as graciously as I could, and went on to learn a lot about a cool organization and how it helps our community.


Probably the worst blunder I've had recently happened a few weeks ago.  I met with an elderly client in Manhattan.  I somehow managed to bump her rock retaining wall as I was backing out of her driveway.  The wall crumbled.  The client was very understanding, and gave me a big hug after I tearfully walked back into her house and told her what I had done.  I know she had seen much worse things in her long life and this was just a small inconvenience for her.


We are humans.  We make mistakes.  It's how we handle ourselves after we make our mistakes.  I'm learning that in a business where you deal with people everyday, you are bound to make mistakes.  I'm a perfectionist so it's taken me a while to understand that it's ok for me to screw up once in a while.  When I feel down and am having a bad day, I know I need to keep trudging ahead.  I can fall forward into the arms of Jesus and know that I don't have to be perfect.  We are all children of God and are wonderfully made!  As long as I keep moving forward, and "fall forward" each day, I know I can handle anything this life throws at me.  ~ Lydia

Don't try doing this alone.

This weekend was the Burger Reunion.  It's held every 3 years and is a special event that lasts 4 days.  Dan's grandma was Elsie Burger Hiesterman.  She had 10 siblings and they all grew up in a farmhouse southwest of Clay Center that is still in the Burger family to this day.  The Burger family likes to have fun and our Lutheran roots run deep.  It's a Burger tradition to hold hands and sing the doxology (Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow) before eating our meals.

It's always comforting to have a Pastor in the family.  Uncle Joel's closing sermon today at our morning memorial breakfast struck a chord with me.  He talked about grief and dealing with loss.  Uncle Joel got this so right today!  Grief is a natural response to death of a loved one.  Everyone grieves differently and grief has a purpose.  He reminded us that through the Body of Christ, we don't have to carry the burden alone.  He is faithful and He loves us through the grief.  Also as Christians, we are to mourn with those that mourn.  Grief is a part of life and it's important and healing to share it with others.   

I've realized that I can't hide from loss.  I would rather commune with others and share in the joys and sorrows in life.  I'm still struggling with everything that's happened this year.  It was very good for me to be reminded today that I don't have to go it alone.  The grief would be suffocating if I tried to handle it by myself.  Thankfully I have faith and a community of believers to help share the load.