A Little Help from our Friends

These last two weeks have been the hardest of my life.  It may seem like a little thing, but the help from my friends has been one of the many ways that God has shown me love and compassion during this time.

Gift cards from my friends at work:

A cookie cake delivered to Mom's house by friends of the family.

An assortment of goodies that arrived by mail, giving Dad a joyful snack in the few days before his last visit to the hospital.  Isaac did such a good job of preparing them all on a tray for Boppa.

There were meals that arrived at Mom's house after Dad passed away.  BBQ brisket; gumbo; salad and fruit trays; cakes, pies, and cookies.  And one sweet neighbor who came almost daily to walk the dogs when we had no time to do so.

Then there were flowers.  This arrangement came from my own beautiful friends.  

A day before I headed back to Mom and Dad's to say goodbye to Dad, my friends came over to encourage me.  They gave me some sweet gifts to help my sadness...

And this weekend, while I was gone grieving with family, planning the family memorial service, my sweet friends were busy caring for me in my absence.

Some of them came over to my house and clean it, washing towels, and putting clean sheets on the beds.  

I have been so busy the last two months at Mom and Dad's house, that I have completely neglected my own.  This way, when I arrived home today, I could just walk right in and relax, instead of feeling stressed about the chores I haven't been keeping up with.

They even went above and beyond (on what was already above and beyond), and tackled our office, which you couldn't see the floor, or any surface because we have just been literally throwing stuff in there to keep the rest of the house presentable.  When we came home, it looked like this (actually, it looked even better than this, since this was taken after the kids had pulled out a few things):

Another friend stocked my fridge and pantry with goodies and groceries so that we wouldn't have to go to the store right away. 

Then, there were the sweet little crafts and notes left on our countertop...

And these little critters we were delighted to find about the house: 

And a gift basket filled with sweet, thoughtful gifts.  The card says, "Megan's 'I Wanna Get Away' (and that's okay!) Basket. A Keep Up Your Strength gift from your girls.  We love you."  My friends are truly amazing.

Then another friend stopped by with some packs of tissue and a gift card.  I am beyond blessed by my friends.  They are amazing, and the love of Christ overflows.  You see why we never want to move again?!?  This kind of love and support doesn't happen in the real world!