Death Has Touched My Life Again

      The word came today that Alice was dead. She was a friend of a friend. I met her at a time when she desired to take a teaching she had been doing for years to another level, by publishing a book. I recall doing an evaluation for her. Her next step was to began to re-organize her ideas in preparation to go to print.  

You didn’t get a chance to publish your book, but those teachings will live on forever through those you have taught.

      Farewell, my friend, you will be missed. In the short time I had to meet you, I was impressed with your faith and abilities as a woman who cared enough about the spiritual condition of people to use what you had to help many grow in faith.You will be missed as a woman of faith. My heart is in grief but I know you are in the place you were destined to go. . . heaven.

Rest in Peace.

God, There Are Too Many People Dying

Death continues to happen around me. I use to be afraid of death until I found out the secret to not being afraid, or why I was really afraid. People are always afraid when they don’t know something, when they are uncertain about something, it is fearful.

I feel for people who lose a loved one, even if they are not my relatives. But I know death is inevitable. We are all going to die one day, it’s just a matter of when and how. I hope to live a very long time. My mother is 81; my father died when he was about 83.

A friend just loss his mother. It was tough. He had some hard decisions to make and he was struggling. I am always amazed how quick hospitals are ready to take a life. All of these modern advances and only people with money can extend their lives. It seems so unfair, but that is the country we live in and the greed that has taken root in our country.

Finally, moving through our pastor’s death. Felt a little angry because his health was in his hands but he made some decisions that were contrary to improving his lifestyle.

God, there are too many people dying prematurely because they won’t take care of their health.

My friend is rising above her grief. Some do it faster and others it takes a little longer. I’ve filled some gaps to give her the opportunity to work through her grief. A lesson I have learned that I will pass on. At first when a person dies, everyone is in and out. They need you afterward, so make time to drop by and visit. Do whatever you feel like doing for them because they won’t know what you can do for them.

Have patience in their moments of crying, frustration, reality. Sometimes a hug, or an ear is all that is needed. Don’t smother them. They won’t like that.

Buy little cards and small gifts for them just to let them know you care.

Read how I died to the past and was reborn in There In The Midst at www.print2publish.com book store.

How Long Should A Person Grieve?

Think about the people you have lost in your life. Who comes to mind? I have one uncle who introduced me to my first baseball game, with the New York Mets.

He was the uncle when I was working toward a goal of earning enough money for my school uniform, he allowed me to baby sit his children.

I sure miss his teasing. He used to call me niece. He was more of a father figure than my own dad. Yes, he is missed. I didn’t go to the funeral so the way I remember him is full of life.

Funerals are a way of saying farewell; they are final; some say closure.

We deal with grief in our own way. It may be not attending a funeral. It could be to go through the process of grieving with others during the prep for the funeral, at the funeral and after the funeral attempt to celebrate.

When I remember something special about my uncle, I feel the ache in my heart. He’s been dead a number of years but I still feel the lost.

Sometimes it is hard to let go. But in time they fade away.

Some people say, “Let go. They’re gone.”

I don’t cry when I remember now, I smile.

So I guess the pain fades with time, the punch doesn’t knock the wind out of you, leave you sad and longing.

I think I’m going to be all right.

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You Will Be Missed

(This was a letter I wrote about my cousin’s husband. I was unable to attend his funeral. I sent this letter in my absence to be read at the funeral.)


A Man With A Purpose

"Then the Lord told Abram, 'Leave your country, your relatives and your father’s house and go to the land that I will show you. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.
So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed him and. . .' "

Ray was on a journey. He was going somewhere. Along the way, God gave him Sephie, his wife, to love cherish and honor as his own body, and he did that.

Many dangers lurked while he was on his journey, he never ran away; he faced them one by one. Sometimes he experienced the sting of letting go of loved ones for their best interest to promote harmony and love but God fixed it.

In his journey he was never to prideful to say, “I’m sorry,” to ask for forgiveness.

In his journey his door was always open with hospitality. An invitation to his home always made one feel welcome.

In his journey he enjoyed life and lifestyle. He enjoyed looking good and smelling good. And he always had an entertaining conversation. He was a people person.

In his journey he gained a wife who would pick up and go wherever he set to go and never complained. Along the way, they would go through whatever they had to go through as a husband and wife to make wherever and whatever situation they were in work.

In his Journey he always encouraged and spoke good of all. Never heard him say a harsh word, or put others down.

In his journey, I never saw his face without a smile. He never complained.

In his journey, his role as husband left an indelible mark, one that will never be erased, one that many marriage partners can learn from. Yes, he was special that way.

In his journey, not many could have endured what Ray endured and still held their heads up.

Ray taught how to hold my head high, in spite of…

In his journey, there was nothing too good for his special girl. Cuz,I have always thanked God for giving you Ray. You deserved to be Ray’s Queen, his little girl, the love of his life.

In his journey, Ray knew how to make money and was always striving for greater wealth.

Thank you, Ray, for that entrepreneurial spirit in you, that part of you who didn’t hang up your retirement banner, in spite of what others thought, to pave the way for others with that same spirit. It is because of what I learned from you I will never give up pursuing my dreams.

We won’t get to tour the country together, or be in business together, but the dream of coming to your city is not dead. I will do that for you one day, Ray.

Who was Ray? A loving, caring husband, and a businessman. That’s how I knew him and remember him today. I loved him as a brother, a friend, a businessman and I feel blessed to have known him.

I would love to post your grief letters here.

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