Bittersweet Season

Let me begin by wishing anybody who actually reads my random posts on this blog a Happy Thanksgiving!

Many people take this time of year for granted. Sure it is a time for family gatherings, large amounts of food, and time out of school but it is truly more. It is a time to treasure and value what you have and what you have lost. This last part is especially true if you have ever lost loved ones around this time of year.

While I am not saying it is easier to experience the loss of a loved one other times of the year, I am just saying it is especially difficult around a time that is usually cheerful and which many memories are made.

I have experienced this a few times in my life, but the most painful loss that I am still dealing with to some aspect occurred almost 4 years ago when my grandmother died from lung cancer. She had just moved back to Paris from Nashville in April of 2005. She was diagnosed with the cancer in June. This was also the summer before my senior year in high school. There were several difficult decisions made toward the end of her illness, both regarding her health and my personal life.

Some of my personal decisions during the last week still haunt me, but one in particular I still struggle with around Thanksgiving. That decision was to go do the “traditional” Thanksgiving meal with my dad’s side of the family at Cracker Barrel. I felt like this would be a good thing to do at the time since I had spent so much time with my grandmother. Just a day short of a week later on Nov 30 she died. I thought of many things that she would miss including my graduation, Christmas, and many other milestones in my life, but what really had me upset was the fact that I had not spent Thanksgiving with her.

I still get emotional around this time of year, but have come to realize that I am not the only one feeling pain and loss during the holidays. A death during any part of the year is felt during the holidays, often causing some awkwardness when trying to fill the void the loss left behind.

So, I have a request for you this holiday season. As you are enjoying all the food and fun with your loved ones, take some time to think about those who are suffering and say a quick prayer that they may be comforted.

I am still here...

So, I admit that it has been a while since I have posted, but I just wanted to let you know (if anybody actually reads this) that I am still alive and haven’t fallen off the planet.

I have been down for about a week with sinus problems, and prior to working on some school projects (or neglecting them…). I promise as things start to slow down a little in my crazy world I will post more often, but the second half of your next to last semester in college can be a hectic mess trying to balance and figure out what you are doing, what you want to do, and doing what you feel like.

Next post will continue my series of people who have made a difference in my life.

A True Christian Light

The first person I am choosing to spotlight is a very special person that I didn’t know that well, but was a great example and teacher to others. This person is Ms. Tina Kersey.

Ms. Tina is the mother of Caleb, C.J. and Will Kersey, Marlinia Rhodes, and Maria Buckner. Her husband Randy Kersey is the minister for the Main Street Church of Christ in Mt. Pleasant, TN.

Ms. Tina recently lost a lengthy battle with breast cancer. I didn’t know Ms. Tina very well, but I saw her great example and dedicated spirit in her children who have played important parts in my life.

It wasn’t until last night, when a friend and I were at the visitation for her funeral that I realized just how large a part Ms. Tina had played in my life. My grandmother died of lung cancer in 2005, so I felt a connection to her through the cancer and the pain her grandchildren are feeling at this point, but the connection went deeper.

When I arrived at the church for the visitation last night, the line stretched out and around the building into an adjacent parking lot. This is an event that I can only relate to one other point in my life which was the death of Josh Riley. For that many people to come and pay their respects to Ms. Tina and show support to her family shows that she was truly a great person and touched many people by her example.

She truly let her Christian light shine on those around her. She has taught me how to be a better person and Christian even though I never spent much time with her. A part of her will live on in my heart, and shall help my Christian light shine.

The Importance of Being There

I have recently been thinking about the relationships I have in my life with friends, family, and maybe a girlfriend in the future. There are people that I am very close to like my and those who I can relate to but don’t get to see very often. But the one thing that stands out to me with all of these people is that they are there when I need them to be.

While they play different parts at different times, each and everyone of them have played a part in preventing me from getting hurt, causing damage, or making a situation worse. Without them, I can honestly say that I would not be typing this post, or even taking another breath.

To honor these great people, I am planning to have a series of short posts about some of the most prominent in my life right now. I am not trying to play favorites, but will use some specific names in addition to general characteristics to help give honor where honor is due.

Please be patient and forgive me if I don’t mention you specifically. I may not remember your name, but will always remember how you’ve touched my life.

Coming Soon...

For those of you just now tuning in to this station, I promise to write a post soon about me, who I am, and why I am blogging.

Until then, just hang around and don't worry about feeding any coins to the meter. It is out of order right now.

Ultimate Irony

So, let me start off by thanking some good friends (okay, only one, but he is a pretty awesome guy) for talking me into starting a blog. I have blogged off and on for a while, but have never committed to it.

Ever since I created this blog a few days ago, I’ve been trying to figure out what to write about. And then it came to me as I suffered through one of the worst days of my collegiate life so far. I guess that I am lucky that this hasn’t happened to me before my senior year, but at the same time it has me worried about the rest of the year with graduation possibly on the line.

For the most part, my semester if full of great classes that I enjoy and am not overly concerned with doing well. The only class that I have been afraid of is the one Bible class that is required for my major. This class is taught by a professor that I had hoped to be able to avoid having, but no such luck.

I should also probably mention at this point the new campus wide attendance policy that you are only allowed to miss 25% of the class meetings of a class before you are dropped from the class. The particular class being discussed meets twice a week, so I am allowed to miss 7 times for the semester.

On to the reason for the title. The first test of the semester for this class took place this morning. A test which I studied for most of yesterday and several hours early this morning, only to sleep through and miss. Because of this, I studied all night for a test I wasn’t able to take, in addition to now having either 4 or 5 absences in this class.

So, today hasn’t exactly been a great day, but now that I have let all of cyberspace know my problems, I feel oddly better. I am now probably a 7/10 on the “Dr. Mark” scale.