The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet [call] of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life. (I Thessalonians 4:16)

My family recently suffered the loss of one of last of her generation.  There are 2 other sisters and then the elder of the family will be me.  That’s a sad and frightening thought.  My wife and I no longer are the “kids” in the family–though we sometimes still act like we are.  We recently held our annual water fight in memory of my mother-in-law.  As she always does, my wife, Betty, started things off by coming out in a costume.  This year she was Chuck, the Angry Bird.  With the temperatures in the 90’s, everyone had a great time getting soaked.  That included brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews and so on.  In this way, we always remember her mom with joy and thanksgiving.

The death of a loved is never easy.  It leaves an emptiness inside each of us that we feel will never go away.  And with the passing of each older relative, my wife and I relive the passing of those closest to us–mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers.  And with each passing, we all question where they are now.  My aunt’s mother always believed that this life was all there was.  Once you died, there was nothing else.  Her children never accepted that and truly believed that there was a better place to go to.  And they lived their lives accordingly.  As did my aunt.  When my time comes, she will be one of many waiting for me on the other side.

So, in remembrance of her, and thinking of our family, here’s a repost from Facebook:

Requiem

There’s a hole in my heart.

She was my aunt and so much more,
A sister, daughter, wife.
A mother and a grandmother–
She was so full of life.

Her final days went by so fast,
We hardly saw them pass.
A type of peace shone from her face,
And then she breathed her last.

As each one said our last goodbyes,
And as we shed our tears,
She now is in a better place
Away from all her fears.

No longer will she fill our lives
With all she had to give.
The love and joy she shared with us;
Hers was a life well lived.

From dust she will return to dust
And yet she will live on.
The memories we’ll always have;
She never will be gone

         There’s still a hole in my heart.  But now it’s being filled with memories and with hope for tomorrow.