"Look, at Hardees, you can get a cheeseburger with fries for free."

"No, Grandpoppy, that means free internet."

Mrs. Kay Parker from the Healing Place spoke at forum this week.  Besides demonstrating an excellent three point speech to us, Mrs. Parker was nice, funny, and spoke honestly about her relationship with God, stating very often that God will pull you through the hard places and to keep on trusting Him.

You "never know where you're going, but you're going somewhere."  And "one thing always leads to another."  These two quotes from Mrs. Parker sort of describe my life at the moment.  I literally have no clue where I'm headed in life right now, so it's comforting to be reminded that I'll eventually end up somewhere and that I'll probably figure out where that's going to be sooner than later.  Of course, I always need to leave room open to be surprised because the roads of life can be a little windy.

This is a summary of the advice Mrs. Parker gave us (that really hit home for me):

• What work would I do if I didn't get paid for it?
• Don't be afraid to try on different majors to see how they fit. 
• Do what I want to do, not what others want me to do.
• "God can work through ordinary people to do extraordinary things."
• Fill in the blank "I was born to...." and never work another day in your life.

The Healing Place helps grieving children deal with family issues.  They also teach parents and guardians how to help their grieving children.  In establishing the Healing Place in Florence, Mrs. Parker and the others went through a few difficult times, where God was definitely responsible for the final coming together of all the pieces of the puzzle.  At the Healing Place, volunteers play with the children, just to give them some normalcy and for the children to realize that they are not alone and that someone cares for them. 

Mrs. Parker also gave us four ways to relieve tension and deal with stress:

1. Be honest with self and maybe another person (who won't judge you) and God. 
2. Be expressive. (Write, cry, pray, shout)
3. Be physical.  (Hit something, throw things)
4. Be aware of what I keep telling myself that is bothering me and what I need to forgive myself of. 

"Forget perfect.  It's nonexistent."  Don't let sadness, anger, fear, or guilt get out of hand.  Seek help and be peaceful.  

At the end of forum, Mrs. Parker called us out by saying it's easy to complain about what's wrong.  What's hard is getting up and doing something about it.  Small changes can makes a difference, and we should focus on what we can do, not what we can't.  

Mrs. Parker was the epitome of a motivational speaker--I suppose that comes from teaching grief classes for so long.  Listening to her was an absolute blast, and I was honestly surprised when class was over.  I would definitely love it if all our speakers this year were as awesome as Mrs. Parker.  Now, there are different types of awesome.  Mrs. Parker wasn't the fireworks display most people probably think of when I use the word awesome.  Mrs. Parker was soft-spoken and quiet but easy to listen to and understand, and it was obvious she cared about us and helping us as much as she wanted us to volunteer with the Healing Place. 

I'm not sure if I'll volunteer at the Healing Place this semester.  It involves working with kids, which was something I mentioned in my last blog, and it would probably be very fulfilling to love on some kids a little bit.  I'll keep the blog updated on my service and whether I decide to volunteer at the Healing Place.