Looking forward thankfully to a meaningful grief looking back

As we consider how thankful we are that our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother has been saved from a worse stroke than what could have been, we’re all given cause to ponder what it will be like when worse comes, and ultimately death.

It’s not morbid to think in these ways if you ask me; it’s a practical portion of preparation and a thankfulness borrowed from the grief of a certainty.

Death is like that; it reminds us that we’re all finite and that all we can take for granted in our own lives is the present breath, the second’s flow of blood from an incredibly faithful heart, that until that point, refuses to give up despite the plethora of times we consider throwing in the towel.

Life is one of those paradoxical things we lament very much at times but ultimately can find it impossible to leave.  And our loved ones very much make it this way.

A poem:

Woman who brought 3 sons into this world,
woman whose daughter, a grief unfurled,
woman who has striven to give it her all,
woman who will one day grace heaven’s hall.

Woman whose example daughter-in-laws delight,
woman whose faithfulness to her husband’s right,
woman who’s fought many days to live,
woman whose mission it is to give.

Woman who in pain graciously smiles,
woman who puts up with bodily trials,
woman who listens and speaks her mind,
woman with her man are both so kind.

Woman whose legacy is a beautiful sprawling,
woman whose claim to is a heavenly calling,
woman whose great/grandchildren call her blessed,
woman whose love has been a lifelong quest.

There are many more things that could be said, but as we look forward to the day with thankfulness for her life, knowing one day she’ll be gone, we can make the most of this time now.

There is surely a time for sorrow coming.  A time when, for all of us in terms of our parents and grandparents, who (will) serenely (or not-so-serenely) depart from this life, when the love we had for them will cause overwhelming grief.  And for those of us with complicated relationships with parents and grandparents, the grief is sadly more complicated than ever.

All we can pray for is a peace abiding, a peace transcending, peace over all.

Grief is an exquisite evidence of a love deeper than imagining.  To look forward to a day coming when there will only be pining for this kind of day — when she is still here — makes us make the very most of the present hour.