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Greetings Family and Friends,
It is the season of celebration. A time family and friends gather to give thanks and reflect on the year.
In some ways, it's very much like a funeral.
We gather together to mourn and celebrate life. We share and show a deep sense of gratitude and reflect on all the good and beauty that shined from our loved ones throughout the years.
This time of year can bring about many feelings. It can be a bitter-sweet time of year, if you will, for some.
Many will celebrate this season with laughter and abundance. Others will silently suffer because maybe, just maybe, they lost a loved one too soon - and how to deal with it during such a year of many unknowns - lost - is how many people do feel.
Yet, like all lessons learned or thrust upon us, we as a people seem to have this ability to rise. To stand, to forgive, to "lean in" - and remember the good.
This holiday season, I encourage you to practice the art of stoicism.
It is through the endurance of pain or hardship that we heal. We may not see it nor understand it at the moment, yet we are, in fact, able to gain closure, hope, forgiveness, and peace during all seasons of life.
If you have lost a loved one this year our hearts go out to you.
We know firsthand how difficult it is to lose someone you love - and why we always encourage those around us to show love and kindness everywhere we go.
As the saying goes, "Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes." We can never know what someone is going through without truly investing in their lives, and even when we do, loss affects us all differently.
So this season, be kind. Go out of your way to say thank you to the shopping clerk ringing up your grocery. Say hello to that person walking by you in the street, and be open to smile even when you don't feel like smiling. This simple gesture has been known to save lives.
No matter how you celebrate this holiday season know you are loved. That my friend is the greatest gift of all that you can give to others - and yes receive.
Happy Holidays.
Cheryl Lankford
Funeral Director
Lankford Funeral Home
