Hope for Tomorrow

We received the sad news that my husband's sister, a Florida resident, had died.

The phone call came in the night. I heard my husband's muffled voice talking on the phone downstairs and knew something had happened. She had been ill for awhile and was hospitalized.

I heard the sound of my husband's footsteps coming up the stairs and when I saw the sadness in his face, I knew. My heart filled to the brim with sorrow and compassion. It was also breaking for him because I know how much he loved his sister.

It is always devastating to lose a sibling. It's something I cannot even imagine yet those of us who have sisters and/or brothers are going to eventually face it. Dying is, after all, part of our journey here on earth. Still, it's not an easy thing to come to terms with.

When we lose a sibling we love, our minds go back to childhood and all the images associated with that person. We think of the excursions taken together and of the sibling's likes and dislikes. Some of our memories may make us chuckle and others fill us with regret or sadness.

Thank goodness our memories are like an inner photographic record of what was and of how life used to be. Any time we want to remember our loved one, the record is there, within us, ready to be viewed. Memory can be such a great gift.

Looking through a scrapbook, I look into the eyes of my husband's sister. She was a beautiful woman in her younger days. She had thick, lovely hair and sparkling eyes. She adored her own daughter and grandchildren and dedicated her life to them. She was very sweet and kind and leaves a legacy of great dedication and love.

I'm so happy my husband took a trip to visit her earlier this year. He knew,then. it would probably be the last time he would see her on earth.

Another gift for which I am deeply thankful is faith. It's my parents greatest legacy to me. When a loved one dies, I believe it is only the earthly life that has ended and that death is really a new beginning. The next realm of life is one in which there is no pain, no disappointment, no tears, and no regrets. There is joy and supreme happiness. How could it be otherwise when one believes that in the next life we come face-to-face with our Creator, our Heavenly Father, who has given us all the gifts we've ever received?

So many of my loved ones have gone to the other side now, including my own parents and grandparents. When I look up into the night sky and see all the millions of stars sparkling in the heavens, I think of my loved ones as looking down on the rest of us here on earth. And many days I "talk" to my parents and ask them not to forget all of us left behind.

So tonight, even though I'm sad, I know my "sister" is in a better place. I like to think I hear her laughing and see her, in my mind's eye, hugging the people who are in the other realm, waiting for her.

Good night, dear "sister." May you be the newest twinkling light in a star-studded sky, watching over us until we meet again.