This has been an interesting week. For the last several months, I have been a part of Toastmasters, which is an international speaking club. This upcoming week, I will be giving my first speech, officially known as my Icebreaker speech. I will be telling my club about myself, which will be a pretty cool opportunity. This week, I have been practicing, which has been pretty funny, because I have had to start over a bunch of times, and sometimes you have to laugh at yourself, because of how funny it can be. Over time, I have become more comfortable with speaking in front of people. Nowadays though, it is a little different and there is more purpose with what I talk about, since my dad died. Not that every time I talk to people, I tell them about my dad, but when I do tell people my story, it's remembering that it is part of my story, and there is nothing to be ashamed about it.
It is still hard to talk about my dad and what he went through and what we went through as a family. I was talking to a friend of mine, Steven Roberson the other day, about how hard it is. I don't want to use the word, vulnerability, which seems to be a cliche word within the Christian church, but it is hard to be open about it sometimes. There is a lot of pain that we went through an
d still go through, and that only God himself can help me get through, as I continue with my life. Especially with this as there are other people reading, but that is why I decided to do it. When I think about it, it is really an honor to share with people about a man, who fought for 15 years like he did. It is an honor to talk to people about my family, people like my mom and my sister, who had to see their husband and father go through terrible pain, but displayed amazing courage through it all. My grandmother, who throughout the time she has been retired, instead of not doing anything, she has been there throughout the time my dad was sick, and with that, 4 years ago, lost her best friend, my grandfather (PopPop), after being married over 50 years. Overall, it is amazing to think about the family that I do have, and to see how they have gone through everything they have.
If you are reading, and again thank you for reading, and you are going through something tough currently or have gone through something, you are not alone. Just like with my icebreaker speech and as time goes on, you need to share your story. You need to tell others, because they can learn from you, and through your story, God can bring healing into someone else's life and even your own. Also, remember that it may not be thousands of people's lives that you touch, but it may just be one person that hears or reads your story.
Steven Roberson is a great friend, who is an artist, that seeks to share his gift with other people. You can find him at http://stevenroberson.com/.
Thanks for reading and God Bless,
Patrick Mastrianni
Thanks Son...
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