Happy 50th Birthday Mama!

WOW! Our mom, Melinda Herbert Gardner's 50th birthday is Friday, April 23! She is sooooo loved, and her presence is missed every day! I know she is up in Heaven celebrating BIG with all of our loved ones. If her physical presence were here today, she would have been partying and turning up like she loved to do! Lol! She was always the life of the party! For the last 14 years, we celebrated our mom’s birthday as if she was physically still here with us! We chose to celebrate her every year with family and friends instead of being sad. We celebrate the gift of uniqueness, love, and compassion that she showed every day that she graced this world. We chose to remember the good times that remind us of God’s goodness instead of the hard times that have tried to keep us in a pit of bondage, grief, sadness, destruction, turmoil, depression.

Even though death is a part of life, it is still not easy; losing a loved one is not easy, but God is still in control and still great. My siblings and I have made this far only by God's grace, mercy, favor, and Faith, and trust in believing in God for everything. Trust me, it is not easy losing your mom to domestic violence, but there is a breakthrough in breaking generational curses and not letting the statistics become a part of your life. The Bible says in Psalm 147:3 that God healed the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 34 also says The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit. This is powerful that even during tragedy, grief, anger, bitterness, guilt, God is thereby our side saying, "Hold Your Head Up, My Child! Nothing Is Too Hard For Me! God will wipe away every tear from our eyes as it says in Revelation 21:4. God is always there and always there, ready to help when we need him. God is our ever-present help in our times of need, a safe place where we find comfort and find answers. We have to remember to celebrate our loved ones who have gone home to the with the lord because, for one, they are in a much better place than this world. Another reason to celebrate them is that our God is great with limitless strength, and we'll never comprehend what he knows and does.

So today, as we celebrate our mom's birthday and celebrate her legacy and life at her birthday party this weekend, we celebrate every loved one who has departed to their eternal resting place, and we remember the good memories. I want to encourage someone not to let grief, sadness, guilt, shame, bitterness, hatred or anger stop you from seeing the beautiful things in Christ. Treasure all the good times and memories that will ultimately help you transition into a new normal after losing a loved one. Your loved one wouldn't want you living in depression, turmoil, sadness, grief, bitterness, so live your life and cherish all the good times and memories.

xoxo

-Barbara

We Love You, Mama!!!