A lot of relatives have died in December as well as friends. (Two Amateur radio friends died this month; one young, one old). I think it is kind of scary. In the mail the other day came a lamenated bookmark of my aunt, Karen. It had my aunt’s picture on it with the spoon in her hand (The Best is Yet To Come), with her birthdate and death date in full. This was another of her favorite quotes on this bookmark.
“We don’t like to say goodbye to those whom we love. Separation is tough. It is right for us to weep, but there is no need for us to despair. They had pain here. They have no pain there. They struggled here. They have no struggles there. You and I might wonder why God took them home. But they don’t. They understand. They are, at this very moment at peace in the presence of God. When it is cold on earth, we can take comfort in knowing that our loved ones are in the arms of God. And when Christ comes, we will hold them too.”
-From When Christ Comes by Max Lucado
(This is the same aunt that balanced her checkbook to the penny the night she died. It was always important to her to have everything in order. Maybe there is a lesson here for us to learn. Some of us are wingers. What would happen if we were to pass tommorrow? What would we leave our families to deal with? Did we tell our friends and family how much they meant to us? This may be a New Years resolution.) I remember her saying a few times, “No one promised us tommorrow.” I think of that when people tell me they have cancer. (You may have cancer, but it does not have you.) I remember her once telling me, “Have a great day, make it a masterpiece.” Too often we waste time away.
