Candy Corn....

 

No matter how prepared you think you are, some things in life are always too soon. Such is the case when you lose someone you love. I have always said that grief is the cost of love, but it is worth the price. But make no mistake - the price is a high one, and you shouldn't kid yourself otherwise, even when you are aging and losing people who have lived long and well.

My last aunt, the final one of that generation ahead of us with the exception of my mom, is gone. I have been thinking about all those aunts and uncles I have lost, the foundational adults who formed my view of the world when I was a child, and remembering each one this morning for what made them special to me. 

My view is, perhaps, not the view of anyone else, but it doesn't have to be.  I don't have to convince anyone my personal perspective is correct, or conform to anyone else's experience. I can just remember each person in my own way, savoring the happy times we shared and laughing to myself as I think about different occasions and happenings. Even the sight of candy corn can bring me joy because it reminds me of someone I love. Not everything has to be consequential.  Sometimes it is as simple as a piece of candy, but that doesn't diminish the love it contains in the memory.

In good times and bad, each one played a role througout my life, and my memories are precious to me. They remind me that I was genuinely loved by people whose opinion I valued, whose pride I always wanted to justify, and who lived lives that are worth emulating and striving for.

My aunts and uncles were not wealthy or famous or important in the view of the world.  They won't be remembered in newspaper articles or in press releases, and there won't be thousands lining the streets while a golden carriage glides along pulled by a fine team of horses. Their contributions to the world were on a micro level.  And yet, when you impact even one person in this life, you have made a difference and changed the world a tiny bit.

Each one of my aunts and uncles made an impact on me and shaped me for the better as I observed their example and learned how to live a God-inspired life. This morning I remember, honor, mourn and rejoice as I think of the happy times, and picture them laughing and talking and living life together.

Today I am holding fast to Psalm 34:18:

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Although each person we lose takes a little piece of our heart with them, it will be patched together and be made whole once again when we are reunited with them in heaven. Until that day comes, they are loved, rememered and missed, each and every one.