Grief, Growth & Purpose: The Story Behind My New Book
/Facebook Memories reminded me of where I was 14 years ago today. I wanted to share a few memories and explain why I got into Real Estate years ago. Thanks for watching and sharing this with someone today.
Grief, Growth & Purpose- The Story Behind My New Book
Hi, it's Rebecca. Today was an interesting one. The Facebook memories reminded me that 14 years ago today, I got the call. The dreaded call that no one ever really wants to get and that is that my dad had been in a serious car accident and that he was in critical condition and that's all I knew.
And I remember coordinating and making arrangements so that I could make sure the kids were taken care of. And I drove I drove north to my hometown and along the way got a couple of different updates.
And I just remember there was so much green because it was St. Patrick's Day and we had just celebrated a bunch of things because my youngest was an Irish dancing. And so there were just all these green themes and St.
Patrick's Day parties happening along the way of my drive. And I'm not sure where to even begin as far as describing my dad. He was such an incredible man. His name was Brian with a Y. And, you know, from my earliest memories, I loved being his shadow, especially at work.
Muffin Break is the business that he ran at the time. And my mom did the books behind the scenes. My dad ran the kitchen in the front and I wanted to work with the cash register. That was like the dream. I think I was maybe eight or nine years old when he let me start washing dishes and wiping down tables. And I think that was probably one of my first commission opportunities in my career because I noticed that as soon as I got permission to ask if someone wanted a coffee refill, then they would leave like a quarter on the table or whatever it was.
And I just remember thinking that was such a big deal. My dad knew so many of his customers by name. And it wasn't so much about, you know, selling muffins and coffee or the soups. It was about the people.
And so without realizing it, I witnessed for years what Marketplace Ministry looked like through muffins and coffee because of my mom and dad. Fast forward, you know, then I have a memory of just having this desire.
I couldn't even explain it, you know, just this pulling desire to want to get into real estate and to be in business and to be successful. And I really. resisted it for a long time because I loved the security of if I show up at a job and work, I get paid.
Where is the, you know, commission real estate side of the business is very entrepreneurial, very up and down and unexpected, and there's no guarantee. And so I really did kind of have this thing where I wanted to get into real estate, but I didn't, but I did.
And I ended up getting a micro loan from my parents. They invested in me for that initial course that I ended up taking to get my real estate license in the state of Washington. And on one visit, I remember in particular, I have the picture.
My dad was sitting in this chair and we were just talking and I was sharing some of my dreams and some of the pictures and kind of the snapshots and images of things that I'd felt the Lord had put on my heart.
And back then there was no cell phone to take a picture. So it was an actual digital camera. I remember I got up and I took a picture of him sitting in that chair because the conversation was so sweet and so meaningful.
And I remember wanting to just snap a picture to remember it. Now, thinking back, I love taking pictures and I think that was probably his doing as well because my dad took pictures of everything. And I remember looking through photo albums of all these travels and trips that he and my mom had taken separately before they got married and then when they got married.
But anyway, it was just that moment of capturing this conversation with my dad in the chair. And I remember telling him, dad, I don't know why, but I just have this like desire within me to serve people through real estate.
state. And I think there'll be a day when I write a couple of books that would just encourage people on their journey of life. And he just said, go for it girl, go for it. You absolutely need to do that.
If that's a dream that the Lord has put on your heart and it's just a reoccurring dream, like it just keeps showing up, then you should do it. So I'd like you to think about that for a dream. Do you see yourself doing something or do you have these clips or these snapshots or images or can you hear it in your dreams?
Do you dream about it? Do you imagine and kind of daydream about certain things? You got to pay attention to them because I think what we do is we discount. We think, well, everyone must think this way or everyone must want to write a book or everyone must fill in the blank.
And the reality is no. If the dream giver has put it on your heart, it's for you to take action on. And he's not looking to see if you're qualified. It's quite the opposite. It's like in our very moments of weakness, when we just have those like, who am I to even think that I would be qualified?
You're qualified because he calls you to it. And in those moments, we can then cling to the promise that we can boast in our weaknesses because it's in my very weaknesses that he is made strong and that he can get the glory.
Because I know without a shadow of a doubt, it was nothing to do with me. I just showed up and just chose to be obedient. And so my dad was in a medically induced coma. And we later found out that he had had a heart attack behind the wheel, lost control of the car.
It went into the river and someone on their lunch break saw this whole thing happen. He saw his PT cruiser going into the water and he went into the water and rescued my dad out of that car. And because he did that, it gave me and my sister the time that we needed to travel from out of area to be there, to be with my mom.
Later, the rescuer was honored by the mayor of Abbotsford and we got to be there, which was just an absolute honor. And it just feels like it was yesterday and Facebook reminded me that it was 14 years ago.
14 years ago, I got that call. We went and we were with him. We spent the night in the hospital. And I just, I just remember, I just could feel like his presence and his spirit was there. But physically, there was very to no response.
But then this moment where I remember calling my Uncle Bruce and I held the phone up to my dad's ear and tears started to fill his eyes and roll down his cheek. And so I believe that he heard or that there was some way in which he was there with us, right?
And I just remember worshipping and singing. And the way I describe it is just that if there was this wall or if there was this divide between our current life and eternal, there was no response. It was almost like it thinned out in that moment and I could feel him pass and move beyond where we were in that present moment.
Thank you. I'm grateful that that gentleman rescued my dad and gave us the gift of time to be with him before he passed away. Within a few months of my dad's passing, we finalized the adoption of my middle daughter.
And then I went through a very unexpected separation and parting and ultimately divorce. A lot of life happened in a really short amount of time for me. And I just remember being forced to, one, admit my weakness, and ask for help like I never had before.
To reevaluate everything, how I was living, how I was spending money, how I was making money. And, you know, as I look back, it ended up being one of the greatest resets of my entire life. And if you want to hear more about that reset story, you can check that out.
I'll drop the link. But ultimately, when the reminder came today that it was 14 years ago, I just thought, wow, it's so crazy how time flies, isn't it? And so I would just encourage you, if you have those moments with loved ones, take pictures.
And not just pictures, take video, get their voices, get them singing, like capture the moments with loved ones. And sometimes it's just the simplest, you know, little day to day, normal thing, but videotape it, gather it, you know, get your pictures together because it is.
such a gift when I go back now. I wish I had more voice recording and video of him. His laugh, I so miss him. He was one of my biggest cheerleaders. We talked multiple times a week, and it was such a great loss to lose him at such a young age.
He was in his early 60s. And I think about other people that have had the blessing and the gift of having their parents in their 80s, 90s, and into their hundreds. What a gift it is. Don't take it for granted.If you've lost a loved one, you know, one of the ways that they've described it is it's just like waves. Sometimes it's like a huge wave that just feels like a tsunami that's going to take over and just wipe you out.
And then other times it's waves that come, but then they come back and forth, and then it's just, it's messy. navigating loss and grief is messy. And what happens is it causes you to reevaluate your life and how you're living.
And for me, it just gave me boldness. I was like, I got to get on with some things. I don't want to delay anymore. So thanks for listening today. If you've been encouraged, thanks for sharing this with someone or reach out and tell me what your story has been or what moments you've captured or ways that you've been able to document and capture those meaningful moments with loved ones.
We'll talk soon.
