In Gaithersburg, MD, small planes fly around all the time. I've always loved it, because I want to be a small planes pilot and own a plane so I can travel to visit friends and family on my own time ;-)
On Monday, at 8:30 am, as I was walking up to a home in Gaithersburg, I looked up and smiled at a small plane flying close to the house. It was lightly snowing and it was beautiful. For some reason that day, the plane sighting was memorable & brought joy to my heart. It's probably because I was walking up to the home of one of my best friends, my confidant, my business coach, and now the mother-in-law of my favorite (and only!) brother Rob. Her name is Kristin. What better way to spend a Monday morning?
We packed up a rental truck for Rob & Tayden with beacoup d' wedding gifts, boxes, and furniture... My little brother, married... moving... and starting his life & business with his eternal partner, down in Wilmington, NC. It was an exciting day and a reflective day for me.
Just before 11am, we had finished up loading the truck, and had gathered in the house to pray for Rob and Tay and their journey. As we are praying, I'm remembering when Rob was born (we're 7.5 years apart), I held him as a baby, I saw him go off to college, and saw him become a man... a married man, and I've seen him work his butt off as an entrepreneur. It was special & I'm so proud of him.
As we were praying, the family dog, Jake, was howling from outside, wanting to get back inside. It was different though. I think he may have heard the crash.
It made us all laugh. We had no idea. I think I busted out laughing first, during Rob's prayer. I try to make a point to not laugh during prayer...unless it's just me and God. Me & God have the same sense of humor (that's probably true for you too!) and sometimes laughter is a part of prayer... but not usually in public. Ok, moving on...
As Rob was praying, we also heard sirens. Actually, an abundance of sirens. I'm a former EMT, and as I'm hearing these sirens, I'm thinking, hmm... this is something big. I said a silent prayer for what was going on. We had no idea.
We finished up our prayer, hugged, cried, and sent Rob & Tayden off to pack up more stuff at my parents house. Kristin and I stayed at the house and she showed me pictures from a trip she and her husband (and my other business coach), Terry, had just returned from. It was an all expenses paid trip to Vegas, paid for in full by the Amway corporation. She was showing me pictures and videos of some of their adventures, and we were just talking and dreaming about the future.
At the same time, less than a mile away, there was a tragedy unfolding. A small plane (the same type of plane that I'd been smiling at a couple hours earlier) lost control and hit a home, killing a mother, and her 2 young children, in addition to the 3 people on the plane. Looking back, we heard the response, and had no clue.
We were praying; I was laughing... actually I think we were all laughing, I was just the one who couldn't keep it in! And we were sending my brother and his beautiful, new wife off to start their new life.
It was less than a mile away from us. I mean we heard it. It could have easily been us. I'm not yet a wife, or a mother, and obviously I'll never be a dad, so I don't even know how to feel, respond, or even really speak on the subject.
The only thing I can say is that we can't waste time. We are here for a mere moment. And in that moment, we must make a difference in other people's lives. Me must. We are all so capable of affecting others positively and stepping up to the plate. It could be financial, it could be time, it could be smiling and saying hello to someone at the grocery store.
People everywhere are starving for positive attention (in my opinion!) There are so many times I simply ask people, "how's your day today?" I'm so amazed that most people I ask truly stop and say, 'thanks for asking, actually, x,y,z' And we connect.
Let us be a people that loves on each other wherever we are. That we take each opportunity we have to inspire someone. That we take every moment we can to thank God for the blessings in our lives. That we live as if today makes a difference. It does.
The outpouring of giving for the Gemmell family in financial giving has been incredible. Marie (wife), and their sons Cole & Devin are survived by Ken and their oldest child, Arabelle. Less than 48 hours after the incident, by the click of a mouse, a Good Samaritan initiated a response that has brought in over $322,000 in support.
Please consider giving.
And if nothing else, just be thankful for your family, your life and the impact you can have on your fellow man/woman.
Love y'all,
Monica
Sent from my iPad
As Rob was praying, we also heard sirens. Actually, an abundance of sirens. I'm a former EMT, and as I'm hearing these sirens, I'm thinking, hmm... this is something big. I said a silent prayer for what was going on. We had no idea.
We finished up our prayer, hugged, cried, and sent Rob & Tayden off to pack up more stuff at my parents house. Kristin and I stayed at the house and she showed me pictures from a trip she and her husband (and my other business coach), Terry, had just returned from. It was an all expenses paid trip to Vegas, paid for in full by the Amway corporation. She was showing me pictures and videos of some of their adventures, and we were just talking and dreaming about the future.
At the same time, less than a mile away, there was a tragedy unfolding. A small plane (the same type of plane that I'd been smiling at a couple hours earlier) lost control and hit a home, killing a mother, and her 2 young children, in addition to the 3 people on the plane. Looking back, we heard the response, and had no clue.
We were praying; I was laughing... actually I think we were all laughing, I was just the one who couldn't keep it in! And we were sending my brother and his beautiful, new wife off to start their new life.
It was less than a mile away from us. I mean we heard it. It could have easily been us. I'm not yet a wife, or a mother, and obviously I'll never be a dad, so I don't even know how to feel, respond, or even really speak on the subject.
The only thing I can say is that we can't waste time. We are here for a mere moment. And in that moment, we must make a difference in other people's lives. Me must. We are all so capable of affecting others positively and stepping up to the plate. It could be financial, it could be time, it could be smiling and saying hello to someone at the grocery store.
People everywhere are starving for positive attention (in my opinion!) There are so many times I simply ask people, "how's your day today?" I'm so amazed that most people I ask truly stop and say, 'thanks for asking, actually, x,y,z' And we connect.
Let us be a people that loves on each other wherever we are. That we take each opportunity we have to inspire someone. That we take every moment we can to thank God for the blessings in our lives. That we live as if today makes a difference. It does.
The outpouring of giving for the Gemmell family in financial giving has been incredible. Marie (wife), and their sons Cole & Devin are survived by Ken and their oldest child, Arabelle. Less than 48 hours after the incident, by the click of a mouse, a Good Samaritan initiated a response that has brought in over $322,000 in support.
Please consider giving.
And if nothing else, just be thankful for your family, your life and the impact you can have on your fellow man/woman.
Love y'all,
Monica
Sent from my iPad
Thank you so much for sharing this. And for sharing the donation link too! I tried to find it on the radio station website yesterday but couldn't. Yes, let's get to the business of connecting and inspiring one another. Let's get to loving the crap out of everything! Life is but a blink.
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