My husband’s aunt passed away a week ago. She’d been ill with brain cancer for nearly three years, and had suffered greatly in the past few months, and so we’d had time to prepare ourselves. But I don’t think you’re ever fully prepared, even if you’d prayed for that person’s release and wished for their suffering to be brought to a peaceful close, which his aunt’s finally were, blessedly.
So we attended the funeral on Saturday. I love a good funeral. There was lovely music. Words of faith and encouragement were offered. Our beliefs about this life and what happens next in her eternal journey and God’s plan for His children were expounded on beautifully. The life of a truly good woman was celebrated by her children and husband. She lived for others, a quiet and service-filled life, and her life touched mine. I knew she loved me, and I was just a niece-in-law. But she treated me like gold.
And it made me think. I thought about how much of a better aunt I’d like to be to my own nieces and nephews. They mean so much to me. There are some who live close, and others who live thousands of miles away. But while I listened to the reminiscences of her life, I determined I’m going to do more to show my love for them. It of course made me want to be more generous with my time and my service to the neighbors around me, take more interest in their lives, give more unstintingly of my love.
Because that’s just it–when it all comes down to it, the thing that matters most is this: how well we love.
