Yesterday I read the many eulogies given at my old classmate's funeral. This excerpt stuck in my heart, and for good reason. It is hard to read of the passing of someone so young and gifted and not think, "Why them? Why are people like me able to flourish and this kind woman, clearly a genius, taken from us?" It also made me spend the better part of yesterday examining my own life. This, I thought, was lovely.
A few weeks ago, at a point where it was clear that she wasn’t going to live much longer, she had what she considered to be a revelation from God. For those of you who knew her, Melinda was quite skeptical, and was not in the slightest prone to divine revelations. She heard a quiet voice telling her that “Your life is enough.” “Your life is enough.” She took this to be God telling her that her life was complete. That it was ok that she didn’t have the chance to accomplish everything she wanted to accomplish. That the fact that she could not DO all the things she wanted to DO did not make her life inadequate or meaningless. And she took great comfort in this message from God.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
19 comments:
ARCI Your write it; I read it!
My mother was a skeptic also. A week before her passing she asked me, “Ronnie, do you believe in angels?” “Of course I do Mamma,” I replied. She said, “Can they visit you in a dream?” I quickly said, “I suppose, why do you ask?” She paused, looked at me in fear, “Two angels visited me last night and said I could stay a little longer but I would have to go soon.”
I suppose that does give a little comfort. But it is still so sad.
Heidi
Wow. That is so powerful. I am so sorry you lost your friend.
I can't imagine how it must feel to face your own death like that. Really sad. I hope that she did draw comfort from that and that it eased the fear that she must have undoubtedly felt.
I am so sorry for the loss of you friend, Jen. She sounds like an amazing person.
Wow.
I am so sorry for your sad loss. She sounds like a wonderful, gifted person and one who will be greatly missed.
sorry for your loss. i too lost a friend at a young age. he had been recently married and had a 9 month old baby girl. it is so sad but it sounds like she touched a lot of people and she will never be forgotten.
I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend, Jen. Reading about this has really affected me, just thinking about how full her life was at the time of her passing and about the young family she left behind. It is so, so sad and unfair. I hope that the message she felt she received gave great solace to her and is some comfort to her family and friends.
I am so happy she found some peace before she died. Still a heartbreak though.
wow. thanks.
sorry about your friend.
I am very sorry for the loss of your friend. Thank you for writing and sharing these thoughts and memories...
So glad for her that she got a message she found comfort in before she died.
Thanks for sharing the photo of her. What a vibrant person! Sure sounds like she made the most of her time being here.
Oh darlin... I'm so very sorry for the loss of your friend. From what I've read here, she sounds like a very special person indeed. It is obvious that she will be greatly missed, and that she touched many while she was here. Her life was more than enough.
I am sorry for your sadness. I am glad that she had some sense of peace about her, in my opinion, much too short life.
This is such a wonderful sentiment. We need to spend less time worrying about our accomplishments and enjoying what we have and who we are today. Thanks for that important reminder.
I must say, I'm not religious, but I love the sentiment behind those words, "Your life is enough." Beautiful. And I'm so sorry for your loss. She sounds like such a beautiful person.
That brings tears to my eyes. I'm sure that was God. It sounds like the loving, comforting God that I believe in. What a beautiful gift.
Hi Jen,
I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. I have not read where she may have left a widow (or young family) but if she did, and you are close enough to him to feel comfortable passing on this info, there is a resource for young widows on the web. It is www.ywbb.org.
jessica
Sorry I'm so late with this - sorry isn't a big enough word. I *do* love that she felt like the life she lived was just enough. That's a peace giving thought for sure.
Post a Comment