By Robert Lyons, TBI 10-1990

The one constant throughout history has been  change. Naturally people have a wide variety of changes in their lives. A few  examples are; births/deaths, marriage/divorce, people move, new jobs/let-go,  retire, become disabled. Over time, or better put by one’s life experiences will  allow us to better adapt to life’s changes, which are inevitable for  all.

Personally, after “my father, my hero” (as I eulogized him) joined my  dear mom in Heaven, I have encountered a major change in my life. As I try to  see into the future, I foresee living in 3 States for a while each year, now.  Being permanently disabled, my dear family has made arrangements that I will  live with them, in their beautiful homes for a while, each year. I hope to show  them, by my actions, just how grateful, I am! As I journey down life’s road, I  anticipate that there will necessarily be both; good and not so go situations,  which are changing in my life. As my recovery develops, I am learning to accept  and embrace chance. I feel that this is all part of becoming “God-dependent.”  Because each of us has free-will, we will make decisions, which will shape the  road we are taking. As a “God-loving” person, I hope & pray to always try my  best to use sound judgment to help guide me to  Eternity.

Very  shortly after my dad passed on, as I was drifting off to sleep, I would go over  my day in prayer with my dear folks in Heaven. I would celebrate the  successes/joys with them. I would also think about those things, which I feel  that I could have done better. If I hurt someone’s feelings, or otherwise let  them down, I would try my best to correct this. I anticipate that I will always  communicate through prayer with my dear  folks!

However, as my recovery develops, I am  noticing a wonderful phenomenon is developing. It is that as I am becoming more  cognitively aware of my loved one’s & my situations, I have & hope to  continue with this decision making process. As my day progresses, I now find  that when I have to make a decision, I will try to think about what my dear  folks would have done. Both of them were very loving, caring, thoughtful &  compassionate people. So, for as long as I am alive, I hope to use the judgment  that they both taught me, to live my life the correct way! This will be the way  that God wants me to live. I hope to always be able to see God’s total love for  all living things, through their eyes. In essence, I hope & pray that I will  always rely upon my parents as my conscience now, which is totally logical to  me, as I am well-familiar with their voices and  logic.

I feel as  if, my accident has thrown me into a dangerous river. As I swim for my life, I  will rely upon my dear family & true friends to keep me afloat. Plus, by  their compassionate & unselfish love, assures me that I will once again  return to calm waters. So, each of you, in your own way have been a life jacket,  which has allowed me to keep my head up, just when I felt that I would give up!  My life goal is to always try my very best to adjust to our ever-changing,  wonderful world. By living my life this way, I will be demonstrating how  valuable, unique & precious each of our lives are.