Tag: love

A Shorter Life

by ianspirationblog, posted in cancer, eternity, God-moments, grief, heaven, Hope, IANspiration, loss of child

Happy (Heavenly) Birthday, Ian

Today, Ian would be celebrating his 28th Birthday! We can only wonder what he’d have up his sleeve! It would be a day full of adventure, for sure. Perhaps a dawn patrol surf session, followed by a slide down Tantalus, dinner with his best girl and time with the family.

He’s been gone for nearly five years. Even as the years pass, the “missing” is still daily for us. Sorrow is still smoldering in the deep recesses of our souls, just as Ground Zero did for an inexplicably long time. The hardest hurdle for me to clear after losing Ian was accepting that his life was so short. Why was he taken in the prime of his life? 

A few months ago, I ran across this quotation: “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”  The quote is attributed to French physicist and philosopher Blaise Pascal, but similar quotes have been made by other great thinkers and writers, including the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and Henry David Thoreau.

This simple saying acknowledges what all serious writers know; it is much harder to produce a quality, short piece of writing. After all, it’s easy to ramble and simply get your thoughts down on paper. It’s much harder to prune away unnecessary words and replace it with succinct and focused ones that tell the reader exactly what you mean.

It can be a painful process to cut back and edit copy, but the result is worth the time. As the creator of a piece of writing, there is a great sense of pride when you find the perfect words, achieve those flawless transitions and hit just the right tone – with brevity.

Somehow, I had never heard that simple saying. It resonated with me deeply. “How true!” I thought, as it related to writing. Then, as often happens, my mind went straight to Ian. Perhaps God has a similar motto? Could a shorter life be a higher quality life?  Did God prune away all that was unnecessary and jam pack his short life with all that was needed?

We know that a longer life would have been better for all of US left behind, but would it have been better in the eyes of the creator? Ian’s short life was filled with goodness. His life hit the right tone on most days. His words were usually kind and loving. He was always inclusive and thoughtful. Ian’s life was not perfect. He experienced the pain of the creator’s pruning along the way.

But in the end, perhaps God looked at Ian’s brief life with a great sense of pride…

So short. So sweet. A quality life composed flawlessly by the master.

In a few short years, God gave us an example of how to love and live well.

As we each continue to ramble around on our own life journey, Ian reminds us that life is short … and a truly quality life doesn’t require anything more.

#LiveLikeIan #HappyHeavenlyBirthday

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:14 NKJ

Burntlip Smile

by ianspirationblog, posted in cancer, grief, heaven, IANspiration, love

I was worried about it, as any mom would be.  I even kept a measurement of it, so that I could know firsthand if it was growing. It was as easy to miss as it was hard to miss. Splashed on his bottom lip was what looked like a dark ink blob that simply became part of the beautiful landscape of our son Ian‘s face.

No, it wasn’t bestowed as a beauty mark from birth.  This doozy came to Ian after the world’s worst case of chapped lips.  He was probably in middle school and was just beginning to discover his extreme love of the ocean. After a long weekend of fun in the sun, Ian developed miserable dry, cracking chapped lips that hurt like heck and made it hard to smile.

For some random reason, once his lip healed and natural moisture returned, a permanent dark splotch remained as a reminder of the painful incident.

Continue reading “Burntlip Smile” →

Never Done, Just Due

by ianspirationblog, posted in cancer, eternity, grief, heaven, Hope, IANspiration, loss of child, trust

If there was ever a mantra that fits the world of journalism to a T, it’s the saying, “It’s never done. It’s just due”.

Someone told me this early on in my public relations career, most likely because I have a hard time deciding that my writing is completely finished.  If you write for a living, you know what I mean.  A piece of writing that appears to be “done” at one moment can go through more and more rounds of edits until the deadline is upon you, and you simply must stop working on it. Oh, how you could use just a few more days, a few more hours, or even just a few more minutes to finish the work.

“It’s never done. It’s just due.”

Ian was a writer, too.  It was in his high school years that I recognized his knack for it, as did his teachers. His research was usually quite solid and his thought process on point, but what really made my heart soar was Ian’s ability to turn a phrase with flair and style.  He was on his way to being a true wordsmith.

Continue reading “Never Done, Just Due” →

Life under the Rainbow

by ianspirationblog, posted in grief, heaven, Hope, IANspiration, loss of child, love, trust, Uncategorized

In a study of Genesis, I listened to a pastor taking about rainbows. He spoke about the scientific definition of the rainbow: A beautiful multicolored arch in the sky caused by the reflection and refraction of the rays of the sun shining on falling rain.

Then, of course, he spoke of the biblical significance: The rainbow as a token of the covenant which God made with Noah when he came out of the ark that the waters should no more become a flood to destroy all of humanity.

The rainbow in the sky is the “sun in the storm” AND the “son in the storm.” The son, my Lord and savior.

Today, more than two years since Ian left us after an eight-month battle with cancer, I live my life under the Rainbow.

The storm, I fear, will never completely blow over.

There will always be clouds in my sky; the unrelenting soul-crushing missing that happens when you lose your child.

But, now and then, when the conditions are just right, the sun shines into my clouds and creates surprising beauty.

At first, it is faint … just a light hue of color as I gaze onto the faces of those I love and a glimmer of hope falls over me. Yet, slowly but surely, over time, I find myself in moments of vibrant colors. I am surprised to find that my smile is real, my laugh is deep and a sense of happiness feels true.

But there is no weather forecast on this journey.

Today, it may rain, the sun may come out, or — on the best of days — the rain and the sun may interact to create a rainbow over me.

Those days have tears and pain brought on by bittersweet memories. And, they have hope and love brought on by — those very same memories.

We walk in faith, looking forward to a day of reunion with Ian and all our loved ones who already call Heaven, home. I thank the Lord for his faithfulness to walk with me through this storm and for the rainbows that cover me.

rainbowcrop
A rainbow that formed at one of Ian’s favorite surf spots, Ehukai Beach on the North Shore of Oahu. It appeared to me and Lorna as we sat chatting about our boys.

The Signature

by ianspirationblog, posted in cancer, God-moments, heaven, Hope, IANspiration, love, peace, Uncategorized

There I sat wiping away tears in a crowded restaurant – again.

I gazed down onto the three letters I – A – N … strung together in a manner so that I could pick it out in a line-up of a hundred other “Ian” signatures.  It was his actual signature cast perfectly into a delicate silver ring. The signature looked exactly how I had seen it so very many times before when he signed his name to an important letter, note, and later in life, on a sales contract.

The ring featured the “neat” version, not the signature he used when signing a check or on one of those ridiculous credit card machines. In those cases, you’d only see the “I” and the rest was barely more than a straight line. I remember that I chuckled the first time I saw it. I think he was in middle school and I asked him if he thought he was a doctor or a rock star. Actually, I love that he learned to use the sloppy signature at such a young age, as if he intuitively understood that sometimes it mattered and other times it simply did not. Sometimes you steal away a few seconds to keep for yourself – because seconds add up to minutes, minutes add up to days.

We know — all too well — that every single second matters…

Continue reading “The Signature” →

His Power

by ianspirationblog, posted in God-moments, grief, Hope, IANspiration, loss of child, love, trust

I thought I knew you,  Lord,

close as could be.

Time spent together,

you held the key.

Promises made,

and promises kept.

Into the future,

walking, lockstep.

Then he was sick,

then he was gone.

Prayers unanswered,

no way to live on.

I  thought I knew you, God. 

ruined in the wake.

Disappointed, let down,

crushing heartbreak.

Continue reading “His Power” →

The Greatest Loss #Goodbye Alfie

by ianspirationblog, posted in Hope, loss of child, love

If anyone had told us that we could NOT take Ian out of the hospital to bring him home or take him for intensive naturopathic treatment…well, I just can’t even fathom what measures we would have taken to keep our “hope” alive. The doctors had given up on our 23-year-old son Ian just as they had given up on Alfie. But, are they God? Are they his parents, fiancé, brother, grandma, grandpa, aunty, uncle, cousin or best friend? Whether a hospital/doctor/government ends up being right or wrong, it doesn’t matter. It’s NOT their place to make that call…it’s just not.

We were blessed to have doctors that supported our decisions, even when they did not agree with some of them. They thought it was too risky to fly Ian to the Big Island for intensive naturopathic treatment and determined it would be fruitless. But, Ian’s mind was strong. He WANTED to go. He was not ready to give up. As his family, we would have moved mountains to give him every last fighting chance. What did we have to lose?

What did Alfie have to lose?

I will never see those two weeks spent on the Big Island giving Ian his “Hail Mary” as a waste of time. NEVER. In fact, given the circumstances, it was the best of times.

What was the alternative? Think about it.

We have lost so much.  But, Ian died with dignity…making choices as HE saw fit through the end of his life. This was OUR FAMILY.

No one had the right to tell us when to “give up”.

My heart is shattered for these parents.

#GoodbyeAlfie #PrayersForTheFamily

#GratefultobeAmerican

The Hedge

by ianspirationblog, posted in cancer, God-moments, grief, Hope, IANspiration, loss of child, love

I feared the hedge would die.

One day, in the middle of the chaos, I dared to dream that the hedge would make it.

I imagined how we would later tell the story of the dying hedge in our front yard as a metaphor of how you faced down your near-death experience with cancer, but you came back with vigor to live out the rest of your days with renewed focus and perspective.

We would explain how the dry branches appeared beyond resuscitation. It was that pesky, destructive white fly that snuck in under the radar and spread relentlessly beneath the abundant beautiful green leaves and orange hibiscus blossoms. Continue reading “The Hedge” →

#18 Months

by ianspirationblog, posted in cancer, God-moments, heaven, Hope, IANspiration, loss of child, love

Is it strange that I count the months you’ve been gone in the same way that parents count the months of an infant child’s life? Each month, as time slips by, I can’t believe we’ve made it this far without you here.

Yet, if the pattern holds true, I’ll stop counting the months soon. Just a few more months and we will likely start referencing your absence in years — should anyone ask how long it’s been.

No matter how or if I express the breadth of your absence on any given day, I always know exactly how long it’s been …

because losing a child is nothing like having a child.

To watch your child grow is the ultimate privilege. Fully in awe of the miracle, you instinctively know that he or she is a gift and you celebrate the milestones, month by month, and then year after year.

When there is life, this formula is sustainable. It propels you forward.

When there is death, this formula is difficult to sustain.

For 18 months, I have quite literally been walking with my head turned in the opposite direction … looking backwards.

If I continue this formula, I fear it will sink me.

So, where do I go from here?

Continue reading “#18 Months” →

Of Butterflies, Black Moths and Angels

by ianspirationblog, posted in God-moments, grief, heaven, Hope, IANspiration, loss of child, love

I sat with Joy on the back patio on a sunny afternoon in May 2017 as we talked endlessly about our sons. Her son, Kekoa, passed over to heaven in July, while our son Ian passed in October.

We had met each other only weeks prior at Griefshare, a grief support group we attended at a nearby church. Joy is a deeply spiritual woman with a solid footing in her faith. We grieved together with hope, knowing that our sons are now among the Lord’s saints in heaven.

Nonetheless … there were tears and pain.

When two butterflies suddenly started to dance on and around our hedges that afternoon, we chuckled about it. It was tempting to say these two dancing butterflies were our sons visiting us, but we knew better than that. Our children did not turn into butterflies, black moths or angels. They are still the magnificent souls they were here on earth but in a new and improved physical state in heaven.

Yet, as these two butterflies brought smiles to our faces long into the afternoon, Joy suddenly asked, “Do you see two butterflies hanging around like this very often?”

“Not really,” I replied.

We stared at those butterflies in silence for a bit of time, and then we laughed.

It felt good to laugh.

Something felt very special about those butterflies.

Continue reading “Of Butterflies, Black Moths and Angels” →