Second Thoughts ~ Death’s Outlook

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I say “Outlook” here I am referring to the calendar and communication software used by so many of us. I spent most of the day yesterday with Death.  Like upper management, he dropped in unannounced with a few agenda items to discuss.  I will review his agenda in reverse order.

My eldest son texted me asking if I knew Jamie (Last name withheld).  I responded gleefully that I did and that she IS awesome.  He immediately considerately called me.  He explained that she passed away suddenly and that the visitation and funeral were imminent.  I worked with Jamie many years ago.  Although it radiates through all of time and space, the brightness of her life can be encapsulated in a moment:

Years ago, I was very discouraged over the health of one of the people we served in our work.  It was unlike me to show these feelings openly.  Jamie put her hand gently on my shoulder, looked me in the eye, and said, “We both know that things will work out as they should.  It will be OK.”  She believed it and knew that I did too.  That moment plays through my mind whenever I am discouraged.  That story seemed to help her grieving family last night.

Death’s second agenda item, still moving from last to first, was the death of someone I do not know.  Her name is Summer.  Like any eighth grader she was on her way to school on a rainy Georgia spring morning.  Hydroplaning on a wet road and a head-on collision with a school bus took her life.  The reason this matters, other than the fact that every death diminishes me, is that she is a dear friend to my niece Jade.  My sister Ivy, Jade’s mum related that Jade is devastated. 

The first agenda item on Death’s outlook for me was already scheduled.  My sisters Jade, Amy, and Echo were burying the man they really knew as a father, Gordon.  This followed close on the heels of losing their grandmother.  Due to the kudzu nature of my family the relationship would take more explaining than is relevant here.  The essence is that Death was there already in my day as I prayed for my sisters.  I love them more than they know and get to be with them less than I wish.

As I drove back from the visitation last night, having met Jamie’s husband and telling him how much she meant to me, it occurred to me that a day filled with Death has something to teach me.  Death reminded me that his appointments are set and that neither of us gets to reschedule it.  We may not even get a reminder of the appointment.  The sand moves through the pinch and we cannot stem or stay its flow.  What we can do is remember to have the proper perspective of life and death.

You see, Dear Reader, I also mean “outlook” as a perspective.  If you want to understand my view of Death you may wish to read Chronicles of Thanatos the Reaper.  In short Death is there to look out for us.  He gets us to the clearing at the end of the journey.  He ushers us into that undiscovered country.  He follows the direction given him by the Father and needs no permission or understanding other than that.

It is up to me to see the purpose and accept it.  It is required of me that I represent comfort and hope to the bereaved.  When Death stops by he never lets me know when he will return.  We first met when he came for my Grandfather.  He has visited to pick up a Sister and a Daughter as well.  He always has something to teach me.  This needs to compel me to see all life as precious.  I must love every person I encounter to honor the likes of Jamie, Summer, and Gordon.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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