Home Going "the Call"

[Dr Denis O'Callaghan]

Gentle readers,

Today we were awakened by the ringing of the telephone... we were expecting the call at 2:30 or 3:00 .m. ... It came at 9:30 a.m. It was My brother-in-law, Doug, "Mom has left us"... Ruth my mother in law and Marti’s mother battled Cancer for over a year.... we knew it was just a matter of time but... we never are in much of a hurry to meet Our Lord. Perhaps it’s because this life is all we know... rather like a baby being born who comes out of the comfort of the womb, crying... not knowing what to expect. Many are afraid of death, even my favorite Apostle Paul quoting the prophet Hosea said "O death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55) -Hos. 13:14 [ I will ransom them from the hand of Sheol; I will redeem them from death. O death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your ruin? Repentance is hidden from My eyes.].

We weep with our brothers and sister at each loss, for we are few and the enemy are many. But it is not loss to Our Father in heaven whose timing is perfect.

Because Marti is bed fast we will not go to a funeral we will as we always do grieve our loss in the privacy of our small apartment. The angels are always near to those who are grieving, to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hand of God. We take comfort that Doug and "Dad’ will be surrounded by those who will weep for the loss "they know not, nor do they understand", that this is not defeat but victory! For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity

Another star is born Gentle Reader, perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.

We rejoice in the home going of our sister and mother, Ruth Brodt who leaves a hole in the hearts of Joe "dad and husband" Doug son and brother to Marti daughter and wife to Himself.

Life is eternal, and love is immortal,
and death is only a horizon;
and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.

When you lose someone you love,
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you becomes fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
And though this loss has wounded others too,
No one knows what has been taken from you
When the silence of absence deepens.

Flickers of guilt kindle regret
For all that was left unsaid or undone.

There are days when you wake up happy;
Again inside the fullness of life,
Until the moment breaks
And you are thrown back
Onto the black tide of loss.Days when you have your heart back,
You are able to function well
Until in the middle of work or encounter,
Suddenly with no warning,
You are ambushed by grief.

It becomes hard to trust yourself.
All you can depend on now is that
Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
More than you, it knows its way
And will find the right time
To pull and pull the rope of grief
Until that coiled hill of tears
Has reduced to its last drop.

Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
With the invisible form of your departed;
And when the work of grief is done,
The wound of loss will heal
And you will have learned
To wean your eyes
From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.

Denis