Death is something that none of us really like to talk about even though it is the one level playing field in life. We all face it at some point. But why is it so uncomfortable for us to talk about? I know that we all think about it from time to time, and during certain seasons in our life it tends to take up most of our thought life.
Some of the best conversations are had with the aging and the dying. It is indeed uncomfortable to talk about, but it is helpful. This is a picture of my mom, after she had found out that she had pancreatic cancer. She found out in February and died in November of 2011. I love this picture because she is still so full of life, cuddling with her new puppy, and facing death with the steadfast determination that she faced everything in life.
She left us behind with memories of her love and with the reality that death doesn’t have to make sense to accept it. I am so grateful for the time that we had as a family to hear her words of encouragement and to learn how to accept the hand that you are dealt. I was thinking this week about how much I miss her and wish that she was here to talk with about everything. I imagined that I could hear her voice telling me how excited she is that we are creating our business and how she knows that we can do it. I could imagine this because that was always the message of encouragement that she had for us and the wild adventure that Mark and I have been on following God’s leading in our lives. It warmed my heart.
I hold happy memories together with the awful reality of seeing her waste away as the cancer took her life. I cannot separate them in my mind, but I think that is a good thing. Death is messy but it is good to keep my eyes open to that reality because it helps me to embrace life more fully.
Stacy.
