I was going to do a health update today because there are so many changes going on…but somehow that doesn’t seem right. I just got a text from my sister, who is on her way to a friend’s memorial service tonight. My heart hurts for her, but it’s impossible to share in another’s grief. It’s something we have to experience ourselves. I am glad that she will be with others who also love Edie though…and I hope that they all derive comfort from each other.
Gwen and Edie were lifelong friends from the age of 4. Though they went in different directions as adults they still kept in touch every so often; it was the kind of friendship that they could pick up right where they left off, as if they’d just spoken yesterday. It was the kind of friendship that is enriched and cemented by so much shared history, shared memories, shared values, and most of all, a shared love of Jesus.
I don’t know the circumstances surrounding Edie’s death, I only know that God called her Home and that’s the only circumstance that matters in the end. Gwen got a copy of the card announcing tonight’s memorial service, with a simple note from Edie’s husband, apologizing for the way in which he had had to share such devastating news. It hit my sister like a ton of bricks; I think she is still reeling. I can’t imagine her state of mind today as she drove up from Kentucky, alone in that car. I am sure that she and Jesus had some real heart-to-heart talks along the way…
And now she’s checked in at her youngest daughter’s house for the night and is on her way to see Edie’s family and friends to share prayers, thoughts, memories and, I pray, comfort. Please, if you are a follower of Jesus also, pray for them all.
I will contact my Brothers and Sisters in Christ tomorrow morning, on the CARF net, and request prayers for comfort and traveling mercies as a winter storm is on its way where Gwen has to travel.
Thank you, guys. I have the sense that I will be grieving for a long time. This is so tough. So many thoughts and emotions – gazillions of each, with any combination thereof hitting at every moment. I have never experienced anything like this and so appreciate your praying for me, thank you.