I have started, edited, erased, and started this piece over about a million times in the past few weeks. To make it all make sense to you means finally letting it make sense to me and nothing about a sudden death that takes 22 days of suffering to come to completion makes sense.
One day, my dad was healthy, active and loving life. The next day, he was in the ICU in a coma. Twenty-one long and heart wrenching days later, he was gone.
During that three week period of time, I was reminded many, many times that people are funny creatures. The kindness of complete strangers who were walking the same path of uncertainty with their own family members that I was walking was mind boggling… The lady who’s teenage nephew was fighting for his life after a head injury, the lady who’s brother was touch and go… Those two women never failed to ask how my dad was doing and they kept us lifted up in prayer, bolstering my faith as well as their own. On the other hand, the nastiness that some distant/ex family members were mired in was as saddening as it was infuriating. In that time of crisis, rather than pulling together and turning toward God, they got petty, telling lies about other family members and about what my Dad had been very clear to all of us that he wanted. Through it all, Jesus kept me wrapped in His loving arms and Brian held my hand.
This song was Brian’s way of saying “Goodbye for now” to my dad. It is a beautiful reminder that life can be going smoothly one moment and then spiraling out of control the next. Our time on this side of Heaven is limited, so love one another like today could be your last …
