My cousin, Laurie, and her family are the absolute finest examples of Silent-Strength at its greatest. Following Chris’ passing a year and a half ago, they made the 12 hour round-trip journey to Mom and Dad’s house in order to plant a huge “Chris Tree” in the front yard in Chris’ memory. Its leaves are among the first to bloom each year, and they do so in the shape of little hearts.
Upon Dad’s passing a little over a month ago… they were immediately at the front door bringing food and entertaining friends and family members for us while we were trying to get a grasp upon the intense grief that we were experiencing upon my Dad’s unexpected passing.
In complete concern for my Mom (who is trying to adjust to loosing both her son and then her husband in such a short amount of time), Laurie and her family have since returned to bring my Mom a bushel of crabs (her favorite) for a “crab picking feast” and have had Mom and our family to come spend the day with them at “The Lake” on multiple occasions over the past couple of weeks.
And then yesterday, my Mom received a bracelet with a Dragonfly on it which was accompanied by the brief story pasted below. Of course, it was sent by Laurie… amidst an incredibly busy work schedule that she and her family possess.
No words were spoken from Laurie to my Mom on this one… but they didn’t need to be, as her “positive action was speaking louder than all of her words.” Laurie Burke = Silent-Strength.
The Dragonfly (By Doris Stickney)
Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads,
there lived a little water beetle in a community of water
beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond
with few disturbances and interruptions.
Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of
their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and
would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their
friend was dead, gone forever.
Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge
to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would
not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what
he had found at the top.
When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the
surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so
warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body
changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful
blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body
designed for flying.
So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole
new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never
known existed.
Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking
by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and
explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been
before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.
But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could
not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he
understood that their time would come, when they, too, would
know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off
into his joyous new life!
~Author Unknown~
Very beautiful