{"id":7445,"date":"2017-03-24T06:37:37","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T12:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/?p=7445"},"modified":"2017-03-24T06:39:05","modified_gmt":"2017-03-24T12:39:05","slug":"since-last-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/2017\/03\/24\/since-last-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"Since Last Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since last Friday,\u00a0life looks different. It's more fragile; it's more sacred.<\/h3>\n

Since last Friday, it\u2019s become a gift to hold a hand.<\/p>\n

Since last Friday, I\u2019ve seen a person's most valuable possessions fit inside a small, wooden box. The items inside are not of monetary value, but sentimentally, they are priceless.<\/p>\n

Since last Friday, I witnessed a 13-year-old girl eagerly fill her grandfather\u2019s glass to quench his parched lips so she could hear more stories, listening intently so those stories would not be lost forever.<\/p>\n

Since last Friday, I witnessed a ten-year-old girl carry her guitar through the airport telling everyone who asked, \u201cI\u2019m traveling to sing for my grandpa.\u201d And when she sang, his eyes glistened as she gave him her whole heart.<\/p>\n

Since last Friday, I saw tears leak from a tired man\u2019s eyes. \u201cThese are tears of joy,\u201d he assured me. He'd just blessed me with messages I will pass on when it was time to gather and remember him.<\/p>\n

Since last Friday, I've learned it\u2019s best to fill most of our plate with love, wasting no precious space on anger, impatience, and regret. In the end, it is love that will sustain us when we lose our appetite.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since last Friday, I've called my parents; I've thanked a dear friend; I've prayed on my knees; I\u2019ve savored a donut; I\u2019ve kissed my baby niece as many times as she'd let me; I\u2019ve felt the pain of a tiny blister and a pain too big to explain.<\/p>\n

Since last Friday, I haven't been able to get warm; I've missed the sunshine. I hope I get to see it today.<\/p>\n

Since last Friday, life has changed.<\/p>\n

My family nearly made time stand still in a little blue house where loved gathered to walk a beloved man home.<\/h3>\n

Today I\u2019m left wondering how long it will take the blisters to heal.<\/p>\n

But I know we\u2019ll carry each other when the pain is too much to bear,
\nJust as we have since life took an unexpected turn last Friday.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t forget what I\u2019ve learned since then.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

***********************************************************<\/p>\n

Dear friends of the Hands Free Revolution<\/a>, my family feels so fortunate we decided\u00a0to pull the girls out of school to\u00a0spend time with Scott's father last weekend.\u00a0We'd been told we had a few months with him, but we only had days.\u00a0Our final weekend with Grandpa Ben was a gift. He called it that too. Avery asked Grandpa Ben, \u201cIs there anything you want me to know about you?\u201d GB said, \u201cYou have always been in my heart, and you always will be.\u201d\u00a0Those words are helping her now, helping us all. \u00a0Yesterday\u00a0my family walked through the airport, my daughter\u2019s guitar strapped to her back once again. She is playing at her grandpa\u2019s Celebration of Life service, and I am speaking. We are not afraid. He is with us.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In the midst of this\u00a0difficult time, I had to go to\u00a0Canada to do several media interviews for my new book ONLY LOVE TODAY<\/a>. My heart was broken — but my husband sent me a text that said, \u201cI know you will rock these shows and spread the message my dad wore on his wrist since his diagnosis.\u201d My husband gave my pain a purpose. I pulled it together, and here is one of those interviews<\/a>. I hope it reaches someone today. It\u2019s never too late to stop managing life and start living a life of love. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

ONLY LOVE TODAY<\/a> is now a\u00a0USA TODAY and Publisher's Weekly bestseller! This book is having an immediate impact on those reading it. Pick up a copy at Target, Barnes & Noble, LifeWay, or\u00a0Amazon<\/a>. Thank you for the love and support. It is making a difference.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since last Friday,\u00a0life looks different. It’s more fragile; it’s more sacred. Since last Friday, it\u2019s become a gift to hold a hand. Since last Friday, I\u2019ve seen a person’s most valuable possessions fit inside a small, wooden box. The items inside are not of monetary value, but sentimentally, they are priceless. Since last Friday, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1784,79,22,1782,1759],"tags":[],"gutentor_comment":20,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DSC_0082-e1490327555246.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1fUJF-1W5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}