Gratefulness Through Loss - Personal blog of Trisha Rapley, Australian Author.

I have thought about you more in the past few weeks than before, not because I have been sad, but rather remembering how your writing made me feel in the times I needed comfort, but also a place where I knew being different was a gift from God.

There have been times when I have felt selfish for continuing without you despite knowing that in the end, we all leave, and it's hard to articulate the emotions that come from it.

I almost feel it's not just me, but many of us may feel the weight that carries and the feeling of not reaching out more or sooner. I have to be honest and say I have gone to the places - pages you once graced and the writing I saved of yours more than once.

Maybe it was for comfort, or to find inspiration from every word you ever shared, I can't quite put my finger on it, but you had this incredible ability to reach down into the pits of darkness to help those around you, most simply and just because you cared.

I always feel that meeting people in our lives, whether good or bad, is the biggest blessing God can give us, and what I have grown to learn about you, Nancy, is that your heart and my heart are similar, and with that, they understand each other.

It's rare to find such selflessness in this world filled with so much suffering, that one would place their own heart without an ounce of fear in it in front of the world and all its people, but you were just that kind.

Just to make this world a better place, not to mention right up until the moment you left. You truly didn't know how to be anything less than the miracle you truly were to everyone in your life, and I have prayed that through your loss, we all find a way to do more not just for ourselves or our own healing but for those in the darkness, too.

I feel your loss in a way that can't be shared, not because I won't share, but because it's a heart thing, not a word thing, and I see the people who loved you the most healing through the connection you shared, and I pray for their strength because your impact on them was so great!

The pages are less without you; we are less without you. You have inspired me in ways I will never be able to thank you for, and even without your presence, you are still reaching into my heart.

You have proven without any doubt that words not only have meaning but such great power.

Love will never be measured by the time someone graces our lives, but rather by what they did with that time they had with you. I wanted this to be a personal message, but your messages have been disabled, and I know you'll never be able to read this, but it was important to me that you knew, regardless.

If your loss has taught me anything, it is to be grateful for my life and the few people who have chosen to share theirs with me. Life is so fragile yet so beautiful, and mine will always be more valuable for having crossed your path.

May every memory we all hold be a reminder of God's love for you and his works through you while restoring Hope to all our hearts.

Gratefulness Through Loss - Personal blog of Trisha Rapley, Australian Author.

Gratefulness Through Loss - Personal blog of Trisha Rapley, Australian Author.