Tag Archives: Death

The In Between

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The following is a poem by Linda Ellis and contains her copyright at the end of it. It is a lovely poem about life and death and everything in between.

The Dash
by Linda Ellis
 
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
 
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end
 
He noted that first came her date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
 
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
 
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
 
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
 
For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
 
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
 
So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
 
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.
 
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
 
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
 
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
 
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
 
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
 
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
 
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
 
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
 
© 1996 All Rights Reserved, Linda Ellis
 This entry was posted on Friday, July 28th, 2006
My reason for sharing this poem today is for the many people in my life sphere who are grieving the loss of a loved one…a daughter, a sister, a husband, a wife. May it also serve as a reminder that those we love have a dash as do we ourselves. May this lovely poem be the blessing that I’m sure it’s author meant it to be.

I Write Because…

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I write because thoughts swirl around in my head and I sometimes don’t know what to do with them. Writing them down gets them out of my head and maybe sometimes into someone else’s.

Take last Friday evening for instance. A young couple in their early thirties was enjoying a lovely summer evening under a tree on a park bench in downtown Toronto. They were here from France on work permits and expecting a baby.

Suddenly, a large branch of the Siberian elm, which was their shade, fell from the tree and hit the young man as he leaned in to protect his wife. It killed him. Dead. On the spot. How can that be? Here one second and gone the next.

These thoughts have been on my mind since that tragic evening. I write because I think it will help ease my mind but I know the questions will go to bed with me again tonight.

Why is a young wife and her unborn child stranded in Canada without the husband she shared a park bench with at the end of a busy day? Why did the branch fall? Why Canada and not France?

I write because I care.

God’s Gain

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Our loss is God’s gain. Yesterday, we lost another wonderful member of our congregation. Joan was a true servant of God, wearing oh, so many hats, as she went about quietly seeing to many matters of our church. She was a friend, advisor, chief cook and bottle washer on many occasions, a money manager, a session member, a choir member, and the list goes on. As well as being so many things to her church family, Joan was a wonderful mother, grandmother, and devoted sister.

Psalm 116:15 says it well, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints”.

I’m sure Joan is marching with all the other saints in heaven as we, her friends and family, take comfort in the fact that our loss is God’s gain.

Rest in peace, Saint Joan, rest in peace.

Oops!

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I’m not sure where I heard or read the following, or whether or not it was meant to be humorous. What do you think?

This is about a middle-aged woman who wants a new improved self.  Unfortunately, she ends up injured in a car accident and is rushed to hospital. As she floats in and out of consciousness, she begs God to keep her alive. God tells her not to worry and promises her a long, long life.

While she is in hospital recovering from her broken bones, she figures she might as well get a few other things done. She opts for a tummy tuck, a breast augmentation, has her eyes lifted and her nose reduced. She looks and feels like a new woman and can’t wait to show the world.

She has just left hospital for home when a bus rounds the corner, slams into her and kills her. When she gets to heaven she’s furious and tells God, “You said I was going to live a long life. What happened?”

God studies her face and says, “I didn’t recognize you!”

Oops!

Remembering

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Today is a day for remembering. We remember those who fought for our freedom, who died for our freedom, and who are still alive today to enjoy that freedom.

A friend and I are meeting for lunch today to remember as well, two very special people in our lives…our lifelong best friends, both of whom are in a different world of freedom…heaven.

We will also remember other loved ones who have left our lives through the mystery of death, gone but not forgotten.

Remembering is a soulful act in that it touches our souls the way our love for all these people touched our hearts.

Be blessed as you remember today…

And from the greatest teacher who ever lived, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

 

Reflections on The Honest Serving Men

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Here are the answers I came up with after reflecting on my existence and applying Rudyard Kipling’s What, Why, When, How, Where and Who questions in September 3rd’s post, The Honest Serving Men.

Who am I?

I am a child of God. “…I have made you and I will carry you…” (Isaiah 46:4) I am also a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, friend…

Why am I here?

I am here to help with earth’s population.  “Be fruitful and multiply…” (Genesis 1:28) My contribution has been five children, fourteen grandchildren, and six (soon to be seven) great-grandchildren. I was given good seed!

What is the purpose of my life?

I am here to serve God and his people.  “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14)

Where is my life taking me?

Back to God. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

When will I arrive?

When I die. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” (Psalm 23;4)

How will I know the answers?

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

This was a fun and enlightening exercise for me; I can always find answers in the Bible and this time was no exception.

Comments?

From Another Realm

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Shortly after the death of her husband, a friend turned on her radio and heard “Smile though your heart is aching, smile even though it’s breaking…”

Smile is song from 1936 when Charlie Chaplin composed the music for his movie, Modern Times, though John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added the lyrics and title in 1954. It is now 2015 and this song is still being heard by those who need to hear it.

I’m including a piece from the Poetry section of my blog site to show how another song manifested itself shortly after my mother’s death. The poem tells the story.

ANN

“Who’s Sorry Now”
was her favorite song.
“You’ll be sorry when I’m dead and gone,”
she would bellow at her two girls for whatever reason.
Her life spanned fifty-nine years
of hard work and harder partying…
and then she died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
We were two sisters
detailing the aftermath of her death.
Sorting clothes, memorabilia, and personal papers,
we turned on the Telefunken stereo
to break the deadly silence of this once lively house.
WHO’S SORRY NOW
blared from the old set.
We physically jumped!
She was dead and gone, and she had been right:
we were sorry.
Ann was our mother,
and she was bellowing at us one more time…
from another realm.

 

 

The Double Rainbow

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My best friend and her sister had never lived apart in their lives except for a brief period when one of them was first married. Their lives were intertwined through childhood, early adulthood, middle years and elder age.

Tanya died first in 2008 after a battle with lung cancer. She was seventy-one years old, and her passing had left her sister alone for the first time in her life.

In 2014 Virginia, in her seventy-fifth year, succumbed to life-threatening injuries after being struck by a bus one sunny September morning.

The “ladies”, as they were lovingly referred to by family and friends, were together once again as the urns containing their ashes sat side by side in the final home they had shared, awaiting an appropriate burial location to be mutually decided upon by the family.

It seems that whenever a rainbow was sighted after the ladies had left earth, it was a promising reminder that they were united again, because the rainbow is a sign of promise.

Their memorial was held just last week and they were interred together in their final resting place. It drizzled rain during the committal but when it was time to honor their lives with celebration, a beautiful double rainbow appeared in the heavens over the site.

What a wonderful sign of promise that my best friend and her sister will never be apart again.

 

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My Heart Will Go On

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“My Heart Will Go On” is the song from the movie, Titanic, that won James Horner an Oscar. And now he is gone…killed in a plane crash on June 22nd, at age sixty-one. But his heart will go on in all the music this brilliant composer has left behind.

On the weekend we were saddened by the deaths of two more of our church members. But I have no doubt that their hearts will go on in the memories of the loved ones they have left behind…hearts that knew and shared love…hearts that measured countless beats over a lifetime.

I remember being at a funeral years ago for a young woman who died too early in life from a brain tumor. She had requested that a song be dedicated to her family at the end of the service. The words were from the song “You’ve Got a Friend” and were heard softly in the hushed room. “Just call out my name, and you know where ever I am I’ll come running to see you again…”

You can be sure that that young woman’s heart will go on forever in the hearts of her family and friends.

So, if you are grieving, whether from a past or recent loss, I hope you can hear your loved one’s words…”my heart will go on”…and take heart.

 

 

And Life Goes On

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Yesterday a friend and member of our congregation celebrated her birthday. I’m sure she enjoyed her day as those of us who look forward to our birthdays usually do.

It was also Father’s Day, and a very sad day for another member of our congregation whose elderly father slipped out of this life and into the next.

I had the opportunity to be with each of these people just before their special day; a day they shared in such different ways; and I was glad for that opportunity.

Once again we are reminded of the intertwining of life events. Birthdays and death days are allotted to each of us, and both are a reminder that life does go on.