Monday, January 17, 2011

A week of grieving...

I think that it would be honourable to have a week of grieving just to honour my dear friend, Florence, who died Saturday night.

I suppose I could do it myself in various ways.  I could fast, in order to concentrate on her life as she lived it here on earth.  I could listen to some grand music of the Masters on BBC radio.  Perhaps I could wear black each day to remind me of her death.  If I had some kind of flag, I would lower it to half mast, as my way of saluting such a regal lady.

But of course, knowing my friend, she would have none of this.

She would want me to celebrate the fact that God was gracious to her in this life and blessed her (and I know it would be because of her faithfulness).  No fasting!

She'd want me to listen to some good music too.  We used to sit beside one another in the church choir as sopranos...with Wendell leading us.  She'd hit all the "E's" while I attempted to squeek up to the much lower notes!!!  She loved music and loved to sing....and sing together, we did!

She wouldn't want me to wear black either.  We spoke about death quite often, actually.  She was my friend when I grieved the loss of my brother, my father and my mother....and I to her, at the loss of her dear parents.  We shared grief.  We weren't afraid of death because we knew after this life, there is something much more exciting!  So we often would speak of the great celebration with God when we leave this earth.  I think she wouldn't mind if I wore bright colors this week, to celebrate her entry into Glory!

And lowering a flag in her honor????  No.  She was much too humble a servant for that kind of thing to ever happen in her honor.  Humility was such a part of her but she, of course, would never recognize that part of herself....but humility is just that, isn't it.

I remember the last time I sat with her in the foyer after church a few months back.  She remembered my name but was unable to recall any of the things we did together over the years...so, we just sat together and I held her hand and looked at her and smiled and she would smile back.  The spirit we had between us had never left and there was a "knowing" and a "sharing" even in the midst of her memory loss.

There is something about God's Spirit that transcends all our physical-ness.  It goes deep into the soul and allows us a sense of joy, of contentment, of something "other" from this world.

And that is where I am today.  I feel her presence with me...with us...encouraging me to go on and get God's work done here, while I am able.  There is much to be done.  People need loving and to be cared for and to be heard and helped along the way.

May God allow me a sense of Florence's joy and contentment as I celebrate her life in these days.

Here is one of her favorite hymns...sung by Chris Rice...enjoy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o

2 comments:

Randall Friesen said...

Good one Sharon.

I miss you guys too.

Linea said...

That is a beautiful tribute to Auntie Florence. Just getting time to get on the net again today. Thanks for writing this and sharing your story of a little part of her life.