I have an old friend who’s wife died last week. It was a short but serious illness and came without warning. Her hospital stay collected friends and family for days; but as she grew weaker physically, her spirit was lifted and her faith beamed. For years she has been a mentor and counselor for many and in the end she clearly showed everyone how to die with peace and purpose. She celebrated life and welcomed death with grace and wonder and eager anticipation. She has taken the leap, punched the transfer, opened the gate, seen the light.
Both my friend and Mary, his wife, could have spent their last days together sobbing and fretting and complaining and blaming; but they didn’t. They prayed for a healing miracle and got the grand prize instead. And they are thankful!
Since her death, my friend’s conversations center on how thankful he is to have shared life with her. He is grateful for their love and the road they walked. And, in the end they have shown me how I want to face my last days here… I am going to be more thankful then, and now, for all God has given from the beginning to the end of what we call life on this planet. We do have a choice… I choose thanksgiving!
Thanks Dan, for the lesson. We will all learn how to be more thankful from one stoplight to the next.
