Remember Me

As another summer quickly wraps up and people are scurrying to capture the Eclipse, or transition back to school and a new agenda, I am avoiding the heat of the day and in the comfort of an air conditioned room am downsizing my collection of favorite things, including a poem shared by Martha Stewart after the loss of her sister.  In her magazine tribute to her sister, she reflected upon the habit of stopping by to talk with her sister when she was reminded that her sister was no longer there.  I too have experienced the loss of a sibling and many other loved ones and many other types of loss, as people come and go in our lives, as one choice or experience is a sacrifice to another path, and have reflected upon its significance.
Martha's reflection of loss and the poem she shared both published in her magazine and blog, spoke to me as I have had that moment of realization that the person I intended to speak with is no longer there, whether in person or a phone call, etc.
     As a teacher, my exposure to youth is perhaps larger than some and once again I have read of a young adult former student of mine taken in the prime of their life.  It is not the first, and sadly will most surely not be the last.  As I sat with a neighbor this week, as her friend and caregiver needed to step out, Hospice is called in and the preparation for loss is lingering.  Loss or grief is experienced in many ways, as the radio plays in the background, a survivor of  cancer suggests how to deal with life's challenges with the advice to "cling to your experience, don't let it cling to you".  I am encouraged by the research of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross' 5 Stages of Grief (Loss) that notes how we all process grief differently.  I hope this encourages you as I was encouraged when I read it.

REMEMBER ME

To the living, I am gone.
To the sorrowful, I will never return.
To the angry, I was cheated,
But to the happy, I am at peace,  
And to the faithful, I have never left
I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.
So as you stand upon a shore,
gazing at a beautiful sea--remember me.
As you look in awe at a mighty forest
and its grand majesty--remember me.
As you look upon a flower and
admire its simplicity-- remember me.
Remember me in your heart,
your thoughts, our memories of
the times we loved,
The time we cried, the times we fought,
the times we laughed

For if you always think of me,
I will never be gone.
~Anonymous (via magazine print) but attributed to Margaret Mead in Martha Stewarts' blog.

     Challenges often leave me thinking of the book of Job, where we question the "why" of things.  I am sure that our Almighty God must say this too, "Remember Me" as we struggle day to day with the blessings and challenges life sets before us.  I will follow Job's hard learned example and simply love God, and pray for those whom God has placed in my heart, friend, foe, family, etc. as I remember them.