Great Reminder

Two weeks ago on Tuesday, August 19, 2014, I gave my Icebreaker speech, at the Toastmasters club I am in.  Man, it was great!!  The week leading up, I was preparing each night.  Tuesday night finally came, and I gave it and thankfully got a good response.  At the end of the meeting, one of the other members evaluated my speech.  They told me the areas that I could improve in.  They also told me what I did well, and it was nice to have a confidence booster going into my next speech.  Being your own worst critic, immediately after the speech, you think of things you should have said or what you could have done differently.

Another member did their first speech, and she and I talked afterward for a while.  I talked to her more about my dad and what he went through.  I told her that it is still hard with him being gone.  That it is hard to talk about what he and my family went through, because there is pain that will never go away. But that it really is an honor to talk about what he went through, and talking about it will be helpful along the way.  She then started to talk about her childhood, and how her brother got polio when he was 18 months old, and she was six years old at the time. After going to a Children's Hospital near where they lived, and different treatments, she said they pulled him through.  At the time, even with coming through it, he had to relearn how to do basic everyday functions.  After going through all this, shortly afterward they found out he had acute lymphatic cancer, and died soon after at the age of 4.  At the time she was 10, saying that she was like a mother to her other siblings, and now years later, she still thinks about him all the time.  She says that as time has passed, she has been able to process everything, but she misses her brother everyday.

While talking to her and once I left the meeting for the night, God reminded me that I am not alone. That there are other people that have been through tough life situations.  I know this sounds selfish, but I find myself in this mindset many times.  I get upset with God that my dad is no longer here and that he had to go through all that he did.  Thankfully, he understands and helps me get through it, when I do struggle with it.  Through this, he also reminds me and shows that there are other people that need someone to talk to.  If you are reading this, and you are having a hard going through your circumstance, that's okay. Don't think that you have to go through it alone.  God wants to help you get through it, and put people in your life that will help you get through it.






I want to thank my friend for sharing her story with me and letting me share it with you.


Thanks for reading and God Bless,

Patrick Mastrianni