Death Is Nothing At All

Today is funeral day - My grandma-in-law passed away on August 1st after a 6-mth battle with colon cancer. It is a blessing, really - she was too old for chemo, too frail for radation, and despite surgery, the cancer had spread. Moved to a nursing facility (which I lovingly refer to as "Geriatric Jail"), she was quite unhappy and even tried to ESCAPE twice! (LOVE that moxy!) So going home to Jesus, her husband, her son, and her granddaughter, Julia, is truly a reason to celebrate.

Despite everyone knowing she is "better off," there is a hole in our hearts. She was a mother, a grandma, a great-grandma, a guardian, a daughter, a sister, a friend. She is reunited with many of her loved ones, yes, but still many live here on Earth and feel the loss.

My favorite "death" poem was one that my Aunt, Great Annie, loved as well - because as long as we keep the memories of our loved ones close to our hearts, their death is nothing at all...

Death Is Nothing At All

"Death is nothing at all...
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me the easy way
which you always used. Laugh as we always laughed together.

Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me.
Let my name be the household word it always was.
Let it be spoken without effort.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was;
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of your mind because I am out of your sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near just around the corner.

All is well. Nothing is past; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before -
Only better, infinitely happier, and forever..."


--words attributed to Carmelite Monastery, County Waterford, Ireland

I Found God In A Homecoming...

One of my favorite parts about a vacation is returning home to my house.

Yes, there's the never-ending laundry, the unpacking, the shaking the sand out of everything (if we went to the beach), collecting the dog and paying for a week at the kennel, and adjusting back into our normal routine - BUT, there is a peacefulness that comes with returning to our home... sleeping in our own beds... using our own showers... scavenging in our own pantry! The familiarity of our own home is soothing and a relief after the hustle and bustle of a family vacation.

I wonder if when we die, returning home to Heaven is like that...? Will we have that sense of relief and peace... just at a higher magnitude? Will we say to ourselves, "Wow... Life was a great vacation... but I'm so glad to be HOME! Hey... God! What'd I miss while I was away?"

At this moment, our closest friends are at a funeral. Their neighbor's 4-year old son, an only child, has been battling fast-growing brain tumors for over a year and finally succumbed to his cancer on Wednesday. This, of course, is a devastating loss to his family... you can never prepare yourself for losing a child... no matter now much time the doctors tell you is left... no matter now often hospice is called in. And while the family is grieving, I wonder if Joey is joyfully bouncing into Heaven calling, "Heeeey, Goooooooooddddd.... I'mmmmm baaaaack! Did ya' miss me?!" From the side of Heaven, his homecoming is a cause for celebration. In returning Home, he is healthy and whole, and will patiently wait while his parents, family, and friends continue their "vacations" on Earth. The hole in his family's hearts is wide, jagged, and painful... but they will be healed when they are reunited with their precious son... grandson... friend... in Heaven. And that Homecoming will be the sweetest of them all.

Dear God,

Please bring comfort and peace to Joey's family. Fill their hearts and minds with the knowledge that their precious child is healthy, happy, and safe in your care. Let them know that a reunion in Heaven is only a moment away in Joey's time, and give them the strength to continue their life on this Earth... living this earthly "vacation" to its fullest, until they join you and Joey in a joyous homecoming in Heaven.

Amen.