Day Late

So, late Sunday night came the call I have dreaded for years:  my Stepmother had passed away.

My trip too late to cancel and even if I could, I would lose about half the moneys paid.  So, I caught the plane anyway.  But, now there was no Gwen on the other side.

Gwendolyn Ivie was a fiery little redheaded Irish woman.
I have no idea where dad stumbled across her.
I have no idea what she ever saw in him.

But we bonded quickly and I kept her across the decades after Dad had thrown her away.
Forty-three years she has been a valued member of my family

She had a hard life.

Her first husband blown into oblivion by a 1950's atomic test gone bad.
Her only child killed in an auto accident, while still a child.
Her hatred of the Church pathological, due to the treatment she received as a child at the hands of Catholic nuns and priests in school.

I had a long talk with my cousin, whom has watched after her for the past seven years.  Gwen has been so frail an ill for years, that it is with a sense of relief her suffering here on Earth is over.  But, her eternal situation I am haunted by.  I had expected just one more chance to talk with her on this.  But, as with my father and then my mining partner, that opportunity never presented itself.

In spite of this culture, remember life is short, it is only temporary and all of your pursuits that get in the way of you or others not finding God, really are only a distraction to make that separation permanent.  Beat the system - start to see with eternal eyes, not worldly eyes.

I know your prayers for those of us in our time of loss will be appreciated.
Thank you.