{"id":3867,"date":"2022-10-14T22:09:12","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T22:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/?p=3867"},"modified":"2022-10-15T12:31:22","modified_gmt":"2022-10-15T12:31:22","slug":"it-is-with-a-tender-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/it-is-with-a-tender-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"It is with a tender heart…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is with a tender heart I share the news of Lillas’s passing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lillas Hatala, my dear and best friend, long-time colleague, and co-creator of Women in Leadership for Life, passed away peacefully with her children by her side, on September 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lillas\u2019s faith and ability to appreciate every moment was remarkable.  In an article co-written with her step-son Andrew, she refers to \u2018navigating a life-threatening illness, becoming a widow, and all the accompanying losses and grief, and in time, emerging with profound gratitude, love and joy\u2019.   Her words carry important messages for all of us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is, I\u2019ve yearned for a softer, sweeter and gentler life for a very long time. In a strange and surreptitious way, I have that now. I had to let go of being in control of my life. I had to let go of all expectations of my future. In that dark- ness, I realized, I have put myself under so much pressure and responsibility all my life to hold it all together. It\u2019s time for me to let it all go, and quietly rest into being. \nI am currently on maintenance therapy, which means I am living in the mystery. I surrender again and again, living moment to moment. So, here I am, a spark of the calm, joyous divine. Devastatingly beautiful. <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Even in her last few months, Lillas exuded love.  This legacy of love is captured in the beautiful words of her daughter, Marie: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
 Lillas lived her life with an unbreakable sense of possibility, delight, and presence. She uplifted all those around her. Even through her difficult cancer journey, she would reflect on her life with a smile of gratitude. She embraced every win and every setback as an opportunity to grow and serve.\n\nIn her own words \u2026 \u201cI am living in the mystery. That means I choose to surrender day by day. So here I am, a spark of the joyous Divine. What will I do with this one precious day?\u201d.\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
 Over the past few months Lillas and I had rich and deep conversations about some of the books and podcasts we were appreciating. Kate Bowler’s work was particularly good for our souls, validating and resonant. Kate, diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in her 30’s, is also a Duke professor, self proscribed incurable optimist,  bestselling author, podcast host and the ‘offerer’ of beautiful blessings.  We engaged with her book\u00a0Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection<\/strong>\u00a0over several weeks and re-read many of her blessings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 Lillas, we have faith your legacy of LOVE will live on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amidst this grief, we hold Lillas’s family and loved ones in our hearts and prayers, and in a true Lillas way, expect to experience moments of inspiration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
 A blessing for when the road is long<\/strong> from Kate Bowler\n\nGod, I could not have imagined\nthat this road could be \nso long, so hard, so daunting.\n\nHere I am, worn out\u2014\nbody and soul.\n\nBlessed are we, the weary\nwho must set aside\nwhat we are carrying,\nand begin to feel\nonly the weight of our own being.\n\nIt is enough for now.\n\nLet our shoulders sink\nfrom around our ears,\nour breath grow longer and deeper,\ntaking a minute to notice\nthe way our diaphragm\nrises and falls\nwithout us telling it to.\n\nBlessed are we who cannot go on\u2026\nnot like this,\nbut stand and look and ask:\nIs there a better path?\n\nBlessed are we, at the point of utter stillness,\nthat becomes an empty space for\nthat voice to echo\nand build and resound\n\nuntil it becomes a place to rest\nand receive\nand be made whole.\n\nAnd how blessed are we\nwho are astonished\nto find that God\u2019s strength\nbegins at the very point\nwhen ours runs out.\n\nAmen.\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
You might be interested in these: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lillas and Andrew’s article Devastatingly Beautiful and Lillas’s related post.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
More of Marie’s words<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out Kate Bowler<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
 If grief has a place in your life now, you may find this post helpful.  Some thoughts of grief as a companion. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is with a tender heart I share the news of Lillas’s passing. Lillas Hatala, my dear and best friend, long-time colleague, and co-creator of Women in Leadership for Life, passed away peacefully with her children by her side, on September 21. Lillas’s faith and ability to appreciate every moment was remarkable.  In an article co-written […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,14,1],"tags":[165],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3867"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3909,"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3867\/revisions\/3909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womeninleadershipforlife.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}