Monday, October 29, 2012

loss of a friend or family member ...

losing a friend or family member can be paralyzing ... sometimes our heart just feels like it has broken in half ... healing seems very far away ... how has someone helped you walk this difficult time? or what have "you" done to celebrate the precious life that was lost and now missed? do you organize photos of their life for the memorial? do you gather as a family and just "remember" special stories involving that person? we would love to learn from you ... Blessings, Karen (Moments Publishing)

1 comment:

Julie Freeman said...

My dear brother, Tim went home to be with the Lord. He was only 48 years old; my baby brother. He was the strongest Christian I know. He was diagnosed with Melanoma in May of 2007. He underwent a lot of experimental treatments. The prayers that went up for him had to have kept Heaven up nights. I asked God to restore his health, because I knew to simply ask for healing could also mean he would die and be healed in Heaven. He was not doing well at all, so we took him to the hospital...again. Only this time, they got him stable, so we could bring him home, to die. He had a really restless night and could not get comfortable. The next day Hospice had him very sedated. My mother, Tim's wife and I all sat around his bed quietly. My sister-in-law started praying, then my mother, then me...I finally broke down and told God to please take Tim home. I love him, but I don't want him to suffer any longer. When I finished praying, Tim took his last breath, his heart stopped and I knew he was with our Savior. We prayed him right into Heaven. I didn't cry right then. I guess I dealt with it by, "Taking care of business," because I called the funeral home and got things ready to be picked up by the medical equipment company.
The memorial service was the following Saturday, which was also my birthday. Needless to say, it was a sad one. There were so many people at the service, many of whom Tim had shared Christ with. One young man came and shared how Tim had made a huge impact on his life. Tim's step-son said that, "Tim is the kind of Christian man I want to be like." A few weeks after my brother died, his adopted son, William, who has Down's Syndrome, told his mother he dreamed about his dad the previous night. He said his dad told him to stop crying, take care of his mother and that he was looking into the face of Jesus, "Right now!" What can you say? After that, William stopped crying.