Love Gained, Lessons Learned

A photo of the Bergman Military Wall that Matt was so proud to be on.

....another beautifully written post by my sweet husband, Robert from his blog IsOkToPrint about Matt's Memorial Service:

It would be easy for me to let a heavy heart fetter my spirit and my mind for the coming weeks. But after yesterday’s memorial service for Matthew Bergman at Christ Church here in Nashville, I came away after the ceremony not consumed by dread and sorrow, but with a deep sense of calm and quiet.

Perhaps it was the comforting words of Senior Pastor Dan Scott or the reverence of the Navy Honor Guard performing their moving tribute to a fallen comrade. The music certainly stirred the soul as did the video slide of Matt’s life, complete with a special song that was written by a family friend.

While I think all of this helped set the stage for us to begin the next chapter of our lives without Matt, I feel that what was really the calming of the seas was that we had each other huddled in the first three rows of the church. It was this small group of 20 people, those who knew and loved Matt the most, that allows this next phase, the healing portion of our loss, to begin. On this day, God put his arms around us and said “You travel not alone, but go with those who love you.”

To be sure, each will heal in a different time at a different pace. And some will find the progress is often met with great resistance or even a step or two backward for a short time. But we all know that when the road becomes difficult and those steps forward seem too hard to make, that the circle of love is just a moment or two away and that we each will be there to help in any way that we can.

Lesson Learned: Our trials and tribulations may seem a solo journey, but it need not be. We only have to open our hearts to God and our family, and to remember that we travel down life’s precarious road with them by our side.