ETERNITY | Joseph J. Mazzella |
In the days following the first anniversary of my Dad's death, I couldn't help but feel sad. I still missed him so much. I would pass a beat up blue pick-up on the road and think it was him. I would walk over to his old house where my daughter now lived and still expect to see him sitting out on his front porch. I would see him in my dreams, looking young and strong again. I felt bad too because I regretted not spending more time with him while he was here. I wished I had visited him more, talked with him more, and listened to him more. I wished I had asked the questions that I never did. I wished I had given him more hugs and told him I loved him more often. I wished I had cherished the time I had with him here instead of taking it for granted. I was mad at God because Dad, Mom, and Nana had all passed away before I was 50 and I was mad at myself because I hadn't made the most of the time I had with them. Today, I found myself walking under an overcast sky, staring at the leafless trees and wishing that I had that time back again. As I plodded along, though, God in His infinite love and understanding had another of His moments with me. The breeze picked up and one of the last golden Maple leaves let go of its tree and sailed on the wind until it landed in front of me. I picked it up and smiled. At that moment of peace I felt God's sweet voice whispering in my heart and mind. "Death is momentary," He said. "But Love is eternal." I knew at that moment then that my relationships with Mom, Nana, and Dad were not over. We would see each other again in a place of love, joy, and light. We would make up for the time I wasted. We would spend our days in learning, laughter, and love. We would be a family again bathed in the love of our Heavenly Father. We would embrace that final adventure together and walk hand in hand into eternity. Good News Factory welcomes you and we ask you to help us share the stories with others. When we send you the stories on Facebook, you have an opportunity to share the stories with your own Facebook friends and family. To do this look under the story and you will see the words: comment, like, share. Please click on SHARE. All technical work on The Good News Factory is donated. All stories by writers are shared with no compensation to writers. When you have something positive to share with writers fill in your comments right under the stories. When you see our stories and want them to come to you on a regular basis, go to facebook.com/goodnessfactor. At the top of the page there is a picture of flowers and under it over to the right is the word LIKE. Please will you click on this word? Once you do that, you will receive each story as it is posted on the Good News Factory. You only have to do this once and the stories will start coming onto your Facebook page. We publish every 8 to 17 days. You will also find our submission expectations on the website and yes we do welcome positive and inspirational stories. Perhaps you have one about Christmas you wish to share.
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