Melissa Gray

Missey Gray was a woman that I never met in person but had "met" her over the internet. She was such a wonderful lady, someone that I really looked up to. I think I have used more of her forms and planners and charts than anyone else's. She was always helping someone or sharing something. I feel that she was definitely a pillar in the homeschooling community.
Last year when she died, March 6, 2006, I didn't even know it. I was going through a very difficult time in my own life, a time of trials and tribulations. I wasn't around much on the internet but do remember seeing a few messages about a homeschooling momma that had passed away. I deleted them feeling that I was going through enough of my own anguish and thought I probably didn't know her anyway (what a horrible way to think). Fast forward to almost a year later and a new state later, I am looking up some homeschooling stuff and decide to see what Missey is up to. I imagine my shock, my surprise when I find out that it was Missey who passed away. I cried and cried and actually am crying again. I can't really explain how I feel about someone that I wouldn't have recognized if we had passed on the street, someone that I didn't even know her hair color, but I can say, she helped me in many ways. She was a sweet and caring woman, a woman that I looked to for ideas, even when she didn't know it.
There is a MOMY, an e-group I am a member of, who just posted about how she is missing her husband who died suddenly about 3 years ago, I think. She said many wonderful things. So many things we take for granted or get a little frustrated over. How many times do we praise God when we are cleaning up our dh's shaving stubble, or towels, or taking a cup to the sink, or picking up their clothes, etc. The list could go on and on. The reality is, life is short, life can be tough but we need to rejoice. When there is stubble in the sink that means my dh is here he isn't out with others, he isn't gone, he is here, with me and our children. I thank God for my husband, he is truly wonderful and I am so blessed to have him for my husband but how many times have I silently grumbled when I cleaned up stubble or picked up clothes or, or or? Too many times to count. Shame on me! I have heard a lot of times that everything depends on how you look at and this is something that I think I need to look at differently. This is a heart issue, my heart needs some work. From this day forward I plan on picking up his clothes and his dishes with a smile on my face and in my heart. I am going to thank God when I go into the bathroom and he has left a mess in there. God says we don't have tomorrow, only today, and I need to work on my todays and leave tomorrow to tomorrow.
This post is not what I intended my next post to be about and it is a lot more emotional than I intended (with a few spelling mistakes I am sure) but it was what was on my heart.
Until next time, a happy wife and mother.