A friend of mine is dying. She's only been a friend for 4 years, since my family moved to Sturgeon Bay, but we will miss her dearly.
My wife, Michelle, went to visit her yesterday and came away with an insight that is all too true: "...it's easier to pour out the words of your heart and shed the tears of your soul when you're standing in front of the urn...than when you sit down to talk to somebody who is still here..."
Our friend wants to have a going away party while she's still alive, instead of a funeral. (She said we can have a funeral if we want, but she won't care.) I wonder how many will show up to say the hard words to the living?
The party is unconventional, sure, but she's spent her whole life not giving "a rat's ass" about what other people think of her. Her words are colorful. Her approach is aggressive. Her faith is simple. Her heart is kind. She sits with the dying, eats with the forgetful, and talks to the non-verbal. She smokes with the men, fights for the women, and plays cards with everyone. I admire this woman, and I will tell her...again...because the harder thing to do is usually the right thing.
Jesus speaks of a wide and narrow path in Matthew 7:13-14. The narrow path leads to life. The harder road is truly living. The better way...isn't conventional at all.
The party planning for our friend has begun. She'll have one with her friends on earth and another with her Lord in heaven, and she'd be the first to say she's milking this death thing for all it's worth. Perhaps, but maybe we're just not getting as much out of life as we could. Doing the hard things can change a life...including your own.
***Note: This was originally written back in May, 2019. The friend did pass away very soon afterward, and we didn't have a chance to enjoy her for one last party. Still, we'll play cribbage this winter, and remember how she won the last tournament we had...Rest in Peace, Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment