This week was a difficult one for me in a lot of ways. My great-grandfather was placed on hospice care following a medical emergency, and he unfortunately passed away on Friday night. Emotionally, of course, it's been difficult for me -- not only managing the grief, but also the fact that I live so far from my family, so I was unable to be with them during this difficult time. I am hoping to be able to go home for the funeral this upcoming week, but I do have an exam on the same day and at the same time, so I am hoping my professor will allow me to take it early or make it up later. The drive home is about twelve hours, so it will be a fairly stressful week, as I'll need to drive home Wednesday and drive back to Oklahoma either Friday or Saturday, in addition to two exams, at least one quiz, and a paper, among other things.
Still, despite the sadness of losing my grandfather and the stress of everything else, I do feel a sense of peace. Like me, my grandfather was a Christian, and I am confident that he is now reunited with Jesus, with my great grandmother, and with other loved ones. In fact, over the last few weeks/months, he told both my grandmother and my aunt that he felt ready to go whenever God called him, despite then being in excellent health. Since his wife died several years ago, he actually had gotten a girlfriend at his retirement community, who was a wonderful woman. She had dementia, and she had been relying on his care for some time. In completely unrelated circumstances, she passed away the day he went to the hospital, about a week before he did. I believe that was a blessing from God, calling them home together, so that neither had to deal with the grief of losing the other.
Anyways, I know this post was a bit of a downer, but I just wanted to take a moment and reflect on how grateful I am for the people I've been blessed to have in my life. I'll miss my grandfather dearly, but my life is better for having had him in it.
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| Sunrise over Wainui Beach, from pxhere |
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