that time i lived a dream

It’s taken me 3 months to write this post.

I’d like for this to be an incredibly well written piece. I’d love to be witty and awesome and put together the perfect words to describe my love for the people in these pictures and the extreme amazingness of this event even happening.

But the words still don’t come.

Instead – I’ll tell you the story behind a picture in this post and a person who I will never forget…

That night (the one where I got to have a dream come true and meet one of my favorite authors in the history of EVER) a precious lady stood up during the question time.

“Glennon, what would you say to help people understand the importance of being there for a friend who has lost a child? We lost our daughter, Ansley, seven years ago and most of our friends and family have just fallen away. Now on her birthday and Angel Day- I might receive a card or two. It’s just not enough. Our baby is gone and we need the people who knew her to talk to us about her, but they don’t. Everyone we loved is just silent about it. It makes me feel like Ansley is forgotten. It feels like the world is pretending she never existed.”

The tears came. From her – from me – from the many women sitting in the church that night and from her best friend who held her hand as she bravely bore her soul to all of us.

Glennon paused. She asked her name. And then Glennon asked her to tell us what she would want us to do.

“SHOW UP. Show up right away and then keep showing up. Don’t worry about saying the right thing, there is no right thing. Just say SOMETHING. Just tell us you haven’t forgotten. And say their name. It’s like people are afraid to remind me of her- as if I’m not already thinking about her every moment of every day. Everyone avoids her name- but we still need to hear their names spoken by people who loved them.”

More tears fell. From all of us. Tears from hearts that were broken open and changed by a courageous mommy who had lived through unspeakable pain and chose to share the truth with all of us.

Jessica, this amazing mommy, sat down beside her friend and leaned into one another. The tears came as they do when broken hearts are shared. Amidst the tears in my eyes, I took a picture. Honestly – the moment was so intimate and so raw that I almost didn’t. But as I watched these two friends, I saw the most beautiful display of friendship and love and honesty that I never wanted to forget the moment or Jessica’s words.

In the middle of this post, you’ll see this courageous mommy of sweet Ansley and her precious friend. This moment truly means the world to me. And before the pictures are shared – I want to share Glennon’s challenge that she shared in her post on Ansley’s angel day: (http://momastery.com/blog/2014/07/14/stop-the-world/ )

Please leave a comment here for Jessica. She will be reading today. Let us show her we cared enough to STOP today and say Ansley’s name. Let us tell her that she is not the only one who is feeling the width and depth today of the loss of Ansley. Also, in your comment- tell Jessica where you’re from. It makes the love feel more real when you can see that it’s covering the globe.
Then please, in honor of Ansley and Jessica- call to mind a friend who has suffered a great loss and then reach out to her. If you can’t call her, email her. If you can’t email her, text her. Don’t let your lack of time or the perfect thing to say stop you. Just do it. Stop the world for a moment in honor of her. That’s what we do when we pause in the middle of a busy day to reach out to someone who is hurting. We say “to me, you are worth stopping the world for.”

Some of the ladies that made this night happen. THANK YOU. You ladies are incredible…

May I just pause and tell you what an honor it was to meet Tisha? (Glennon’s mom) I adore her. And watching her beam with love over her daughter was one of my favorite parts of the night. I learned so much by talking with her and watching her love for her daughter.