Most all of us have lost a loved one.
I lost my 12 year-old cousin to a motorcycle accident, and his funeral was my first day of junior high. As we drove to the cemetery, I thought to myself, “Hey, everyone, I just lost my cousin, can’t you all just pause for a few minutes and recognize that?” But no one did. No one acknowledged his death. No one talked about it. Everyone just kept on going about their business; it was like no one noticed or no one cared.
Then, when my son was a senior in high school, one of his friends was killed on a motorcycle accident. We were all so very sad.
What do we say? What do we do? Is there really anything to say? The planning. The funeral. The flowers. The pictures. The hugs. The "I Love You’s." It is hard to know what to say or do, so sometimes we say and do nothing. Or worse yet, we give a bunch of shallow pat answers.
And then … It’s the day after. The week after. The month after. The year after.
Time goes by and we wonder... Is it too late to share a memory or a story? Will it make the mom or the dad or the friend too sad to talk about them? Will we be reminding them, and will they not want to hear our story or our memory? No. It is never to late to share a story or a memory. They didn’t forget that the person died. What we are doing when we are brave enough to share a story or a memory is we are reminding them that they lived. And that is our gift to them.
I lost my 12 year-old cousin to a motorcycle accident, and his funeral was my first day of junior high. As we drove to the cemetery, I thought to myself, “Hey, everyone, I just lost my cousin, can’t you all just pause for a few minutes and recognize that?” But no one did. No one acknowledged his death. No one talked about it. Everyone just kept on going about their business; it was like no one noticed or no one cared.
Then, when my son was a senior in high school, one of his friends was killed on a motorcycle accident. We were all so very sad.
What do we say? What do we do? Is there really anything to say? The planning. The funeral. The flowers. The pictures. The hugs. The "I Love You’s." It is hard to know what to say or do, so sometimes we say and do nothing. Or worse yet, we give a bunch of shallow pat answers.
And then … It’s the day after. The week after. The month after. The year after.
Time goes by and we wonder... Is it too late to share a memory or a story? Will it make the mom or the dad or the friend too sad to talk about them? Will we be reminding them, and will they not want to hear our story or our memory? No. It is never to late to share a story or a memory. They didn’t forget that the person died. What we are doing when we are brave enough to share a story or a memory is we are reminding them that they lived. And that is our gift to them.
It is never too late to celebrate a person's life. Such a discussion may open up doors to the heart.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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