THE world, our choices, are never easy to navigate.

Sometimes it seems as if we’re put in the driver’s seat and told, “Go,” when we never learned in the first place.

As I write through grief, I’ve been fortunate to have wonderful support from those who read and who contact me on a weekly basis.  They understand the loss is a beautiful girl no one can replicate. I write with a broken heart and to make my words represent her legacy.

Today, I share a video story dedicated to John, to our children, and to the communities of people who helped us “save the tractor,” so we could begin work around Corrie’s Memorial Garden.

As a family, we’ve experienced those who did not support us, or thought our road was the wrong one instead of getting to know us. John and I were unafraid of what others have thought because we’ve walked through the mud together when the mud was thrown at us.

My beautiful son said, “I love everyone even if they’re mad at us.”

Not Enough Credit to the Many

In the past I’ve given too much credit to the few who did not know us, and not enough to the many who have embraced us. The communities of friends, teachers, family members and members of different churches who know Becca and John. These are the ones I am so thankful to know.

This post is dedicated to all of those who have shown that love and grace as we’ve dealt with the heartbreak of losing our daughter, Corrie.

John as a Father

John is a great father. I write what I do about John not because of what he’s told me, but because of what I’ve seen and experienced with him.

When I went through graduate school and my first years of teaching, it was difficult for me sometimes to do the extra we needed to support Hayes as he underwent an early diagnosis in autism, ADHD and a developmental delay. As I’ve written before about John, he became involved in NAMI, the National Alliance for Mental Illness.

John started in the program as a student parent. I joined him on the couples’ night. Most of the time, the mother is the primary parent attending. In our case, John attended the meetings. At the end, he was invited to train as a volunteer educator.

After he completed the training, John became a volunteer teacher, one of a few fathers, to instruct in NAMI Basics.

I am so proud to truly know him as a friend, husband and father.