Oh the places you'll go...: 2020

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

On March 28, 2013 I wrote a blog about a statue I saw in front of a nearby middle school. It has taken 7 years for me to fully realize the entire story. It has nothing to do with lack of research but everything to do with strange twists of happenstance. Here is the original blog.

https://thurmanmanor.blogspot.com/2013/03/heart-and-soul.html

Last year we proposed renting out our office to another company. The space was enormous and we simply didn't need that much room. This is where David Moretz enters my story. He had been an acquaintance of Michael's for a while and through that, learned we had a desirable space for lease. Although we weren't marketing it, he came upon a client looking for such a space. He was a nice enough man...a fellow real estate agent. I respected his involvement in putting 2 and 2 together. The marriage of building and client was amicable and they have been our tenants for a year now. I liked David enough to call him if I saw a commercial lead or direct others who were seeking commercial space his way. He seemed to appreciate the gesture.

This is 2020. The year to forget. The year of struggles. A year of unbelievable events and unprecedented stress worldwide. The year I began to teach 1st grade to my twin boys which seemed monumental.

It is also the year I realized who David Moretz, the realtor friend, truly was. He is the father of the little boy I blogged about 7 years ago who is immortalized in a statue in front of Langford Middle School. Have you ever see those gifs where the guy is motioning that his head just exploded..that was me.

Then it hit me. The gravity, now that I personally knew this father, of what had taken place and what this man, David and his wife had endured. A sick child; surgery after surgery; a heart transplant. Each thought took another breath away as I felt the tragedy this man had lived through. I don't think I can comprehend the entire depth or the toll it took on this family.

This beautiful boy, David's boy, lived a short and powerful life. Then I stopped to think about what everyone is hiding. It's almost cliché to say that we never know what someone is going through. In this case, what they have survived. That is the only way I can come to terms with the tragedy of losing a child. Pure Survival. Can't you imagine though what that survivor would actually look like if you could see all the damage done.

You can't see these things on someone's face or body. There are no physical battle wounds, but it was a physical and emotional battle they endured from fighting for someone's life. There may be times that it's their own life they have fought for and won. The point is, if you meet someone who has gone through something like that. They have been to war. They have innumerable scars - on the inside. Scars we may never realize they carry even though we see them monthly, weekly or daily.

It makes me realize how resilient we are and how much we can endure when there is no other choice.

Today while driving through town I heard the song "Even If" by Mercy Me. I've heard that song 100 times and even sang along. However songs have a magical power just like scripture to morph into a completely new animal with an entirely new meaning depending on what you are trudging through at that time. That is what happened to me today.

I heard a song about a man who just couldn't keep going at that minute. "Right now, I just can't," he sings.

He sang about knowing God's ability to save him through that fire that he was consumed with and also knowing that God just might not save him.

"It only takes a little faith to move a mountain. Good thing.. a little faith is all I have right now."

But what about when God chooses to leave those mountains unmovable? Where do you get the strength to endure that road, like David Moretz did? Like so many do.

"Give me the strength to say, It is well with my soul." THIS!

What if the answer isn't good. That is where you will find God the most. To believe that our Father knows the struggle...He could stop it...He doesn't....and we have the faith, no matter how little, to say - "OK God. But you're going to have to hold me up right now. There's no way I will make it on my own."

I encourage you to jump on youtube and read the lyrics of so many of the songs Mercy Me sings. Completely God-Inspired material. Completely true. Absolutely amazing to see this in action, "Even If" it's 7 years to make the connection and receive this huge "Ah-ha" moment that leaves me in tears.

Phineas and Ferb

In the spirit of Halloween/Covid style, I made the boys costumes with full facial masks.

Seriously though, Alex told me what we were going to be this year. I had almost given up hope. It wasn't the hardest to put together but it was the most unknown we've done so far. Unless you were about 22 or younger or have children that are 5 to 13, you just wouldn't know who we were. It was fun though to see the kids who "got it" after staring at us for a little while.

Actual Halloween never looks the same as family dress up day. On actual Halloween, everyone gets to pick their own costume. Yes, this means mommy has to supply 2 costumes a year per child....but I love it so its fun. This year William was a full-fledged cowboy with a gun, holster, rope, badge and horse. Alex remained Phineas..just wihout Ferb.