Last week I shared an article about my friend Mike. I though I would update the situation. This morning I received the following, long-awaited email. I have modified it very slightly to protect the family’s privacy.
“…it is with a heavy heart that I inform you all that Mike passed away peacefully on Saturday morning September 17th at 6:15 am at Princess Margaret Hospital. Mike’s mom and I were with him when he went and held his hand and told him how much we loved him and that he would be missed, and that he was incredibly brave for all that he has been through this past year…
…I told the girls today about their daddy, and [Older Daughter, age 5] was just devastated and [Younger Daughter] who is only 3 took care of [Older Daughter] and I by giving us Kleenex and water and told us we would be ok – typical of my nurturing 3 year old, she is wise beyond her years but also does not understand I am sure what I have told her at such a young age. I told them we are girls and girls are strong, therefore we will be ok and they liked that.
Thank you again for your love and support.“
The funeral will be held this Sunday afternoon. I would ask for your prayers for Mike’s wife and daughters, that somehow God would bring some some sense of peace and meaning through this. Pray that he would use this to pull them to His arms. It is a bit ironic, I suppose, that Mike’s wife is a counsellor who has no-doubt counselled hundreds or thousands of grieving people. I can’t help but wonder how all her training and experience are holding up now that she is the one looking for answers and trying to fill a great void in her life.
And pray that I would have opportunities to speak with her and to other people effected by Mike’s death. The funeral will be held at an Anglican church and I pray the the pastor, whom I do not know, challenges those in attendance to examine their own lives in the light of eternity.
And finally, pray that we, you and I, would never, ever get over the death of an unsaved loved one.
