Restoring a Mother's Heart.
“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light. ”
Today I'm sharing a very exciting event that I've planned for mothers whose children have died from congenital heart disease. Please read and share with anyone you think may be interested. More details and registration are coming in early March. I will also update details on the LOVE ON PROJECT link above.
Love On.
After Ethan died I lived in a wilderness. I was overcome with grief as I tried to assimilate back into life outside the hospital. I was faced with terrible guilt, lonliness, and filled with questions about Ethan's medical course, life, God, you name it I questioned it. My whole life and everything I believed had been turned on it's head. I literally felt like I was crawling through cement. Barely moving. Sure I'd never see the light of life again.
About 8 months after Ethan died I was checking my email. I had never read the emails people sent around the time of his death. This day I was searching for a certain email. I found the one I was looking for, but I also found another one from one of Ethan's teachers. Her daughter had been in school with a boy named Rory who died of brain cancer. Rory's dad had a blog which she forwarded to me. I read these words "the death of someone you love is meant to crack you open". These words were a lifeline to me. That's how I felt. Totally. Cracked. Open. I knew I had to meet the person that wrote those words.
For the next 18 months my husband Erik and I spent every Tuesday night with Tom Zuba. We asked our questions, told our story over and over again. You see Tom listened because his wife and two of his three children had died from three separate medical instances. I learned that it was okay to ask all the hard scary questions. I had a safe place to tell my story, to cry, to scream. We acknowledged that Erik and I mourned differently. We created practical strategies to get through specific days and events. I learned I did not have to crawl through the cement, but that I could actually find purpose in Ethan's death. I learned that I was born to be radiant. That my life actually had purpose.
I learned and believe with all I am that my relationship with Ethan, my love for Ethan continues on. On and on. Our love, our souls are intertwined for all eternity.
This was hard hard work. Hard work. It still is many days. I now want to give other mothers (and someday fathers) a chance to experience the healing I have. The Love On Project brings together moms of children who have died from congenital heart disease in a physical space to learn and share, to support each other, and to find purpose.
This year I've in invited best selling author Tom Zuba, Writer and Founder of On Coming Alive Lexi Behrndt of Scribbles and Crumbs, and renowned Chicago yoga instructor and one of my best friends, Bridgett Piacenti to join me. This retreat is a time to focus on self-care and restoration. It's for those moms who really want to dig in, face the darkness and find light once again. It's a time to join hands with other mammas and feel surrounded and loved. It's a time to learn some practical tools to help you in your daily life. This retreat is hosted by and sponsored in part by Ethan M. Lindberg Foundation.
I hope you will join us for our first retreat: Restoring a Mother's Heart at The Abbey Resort in Lake Geneva, WI November 4-6, 2016. Details and registration are coming March 1. The attendance will be limited to 25 moms. Feel free to email me with questions: jessica@ethanlindberg.com
The love we share with our children is eternal. It's never ending. It continues on and on. This love, this connection propels us to feel deeper, love deeper and live bigger.
Love On Mammas,
