Family

We are the Rayford Family

Categories All Posts, Blending, Family, God's Faithfulness, Motherhood, parenting3 Comments on We are the Rayford Family

Blending. We simply stepped in, one after the other, in and out of transitions. Once in a while smooth, with snack-y dinners, family snuggles & pick-up soccer games. Oftentimes tense, in the loudest silence, a harsh word, or slamming doors. The world around is full of pain, and we're feeling that on an intimate level. Try as we might to hold each our own, all of our feelings spill onto one another. Blending, as we know it, has not been easy or clean. No, it's very messy. But it's beautiful, too.

Moving Forward Into 2019

Categories All Posts, Family, God's Faithfulness, Grief, Motherhood, Stories2 Comments on Moving Forward Into 2019

Someone said to me recently, or maybe I read it somewhere, that "to those who count themselves blessed, more blessings will come." When I look back on 2018, I would name that statement as the truth which defined my days. 2018 has not been without its own share of  sadnesses. Yet, when I review the year, it is in fact the blessings that stand out.

Apple Juice & Orange Juice

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Have you heard the saying, "it's like comparing apples to oranges"? This idiom means that while both are fruits, they are extremely different from each other. One of my kids is as different from his brother as their juice preferences...  This post was originally posted on the Bridging The Gap blog. Expectations and realitiesAs my…

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Grieving With Children

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Grieving with children is a complicated thing. I want to be genuine with my young boys about sadness and the freedom to feel and express emotion, but I also want to keep unnecessary burdens off of their shoulders. I want to help them grieve in their own ways and in their own timing, but I also want them to be able to be just happy sometimes. My strategy for how to grieve with children is as young as those children and it grows and develops with them.

Secondary Losses of relationships & roles

Secondary Losses: Roles & Relationships

Categories All Posts, Family, Grief4 Comments on Secondary Losses: Roles & Relationships

When someone close to you dies, a hole is left where a relationship used to be. Because of his or her death, there are things that will not get done unless they are reassigned to someone else. Your relationship with your loved one is gone, but so also might be the friends you used to spend time with because things have changed - in you, in them, in general - since your life-altering personal tragedy. Life looks different now because when your loved one left, so did the roles and relationships you once knew.

Better to Have Loved and Lost

Categories All Posts, God's Faithfulness, Grief, Holidays & Special Days, Marriage, Stories8 Comments on Better to Have Loved and Lost

At that time and even right now I wonder, was it worth it? Was it truly better to have passionately loved Eric and to have felt the tearing anguish of his absence than to never have loved him at all? Most of the time my answer to those questions is a resounding "YES." Other times, when breathing becomes like rocket science and surviving is my only goal… I wonder if love is worth the pain of loss.

The Loss of a Dog

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The loss of a beloved pet is one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. It is the loss of one who loved unconditionally and was there when it seemed like no one else was. It is the loss of a helper, a tender teacher, a faithful listener, a friend. It's the changing of lovely memories into sad remembrances because of obvious absence. It's the creation of sacred moments that once seemed inconsequential. Today, I remember my grief for Teddy less frequently than I once did, and the reality of his absence affects the tone of my day much more subtly than it did when the cut was fresh. Yet, the unique type of grief I experienced when my Teddy left this world is not something I expect to ever forget.