Oct 27 2009
Expecting
There are certain things that we believe to be givens - expectations, if you will. When I turn the key in my car’s ignition I expect the vehicle to start.
If I touch a hot stove I expect to get burned. Surprisingly, when I do burn myself I react as though it was completely unexpected.
When you leave your home each day you expect to reach your destination and return home at day’s end.
When you turn the crank on a Jack-in-the-box you expect a clown to pop out. We expect to outlive our parents and we expect our children to outlive us. But kind of like the shock of getting burned we are rarely prepared when a parent dies.
As a child I never believed that my parents would die. I always thought in terms of me dying first. My parents have always seemed so strong to me. They are amazing people who refuse to be defined by a number or a disease. No wonder I expected my parents to live forever. Even as an adult it has taken me a long time to accept their mortality, but I’m working on it.
Today Patricia Rush left this world to go home to her Savior. She was a mother and a grandmother, a sister and an aunt. Her suffering is over while her family now begins a journey of grief. I implore you, my readers, to pray for them. You don’t have to know them to lift them up in prayer. If you have ever lost a loved one who was a constant in your life then you can empathize. If you are an only child with no one else to lean on after the loss of a parent then you can empathize. If you have had to help your young children work through their grief after the death of someone very close to them, you can empathize. While I rejoice for an end to Patricia’s pain and suffering and her eternal rest in the Kingdom of God, I weep for her family. At this point I feel that the most I have to offer them is prayer and I want the prayers to be abundant.
You always made her feel welcome in your home. Thank you for that.