“Only two more days until Christmas, then I can get on with taking down the fake disguise I’ve had this past month trying to appease those in my life unable to handle the truth of how I’m really feeling.”

I wonder if any of you have felt this way?   For those who recently lost a loved one, this sentiment will probably not apply to you. After all, people are far more willing to allow you to have meltdown moments in the days and weeks following your loved one’s death. For those who have lost someone a while ago though, this isn’t the case. I could say more about this, but my focus tonight is to let all my readers know that you are not alone and that my candles burn for you this season.

My prayers are with you believing that someday, perhaps soon, you will be able to punctuate life’s happenings, your feelings and your pain with something other than a period. A period at the end of a sentence surely completes a thought. A period at the end of a loved one’s death though does not have to be the complete end of us.  My wish for you moving into 2016 is that perhaps, in time, instead of saying, “My loved one is gone.” Period. “I will never be the same.” Period. “Death is so final.” Period.  You will be able to say instead. “My loved one is gone…. AND,” or “I will never be the same…. BUT,” or “Death is final….SO today I will live.”

Thoughts of peace, hope, life, more living in 2016, and joy in the mourning,

Lori Anne