Selenian Boondocks

I just got a call tonight from my little sister.  Apparently my cousin Amanda Goff passed away today.  She was only in her twenties.  Her sister went in to wake her up from a nap, and she wouldn’t wake up.  She had a brain tumor when she was younger, but they don’t know yet what the cause of death is.  She’s had a rough life.  Amanda and her sister both have had serious health problems for a long time. Their dad had multiple strokes when we were all little, that more or less left him crippled for the rest of his life.  The fact that he’s hung in there as long as he has is a miracle.  Their mom, Joanne is a saint, plain and simple.  I just can’t even imagine how I would cope if I was in their situation.  Our prayers are with them.

It reminds one of how fragile life is, and how little we know how much time we have left. Amanda never got to experience many of those things in this life that make life so meaningful.  But Amanda was an angel in this life, and  I have no doubt where she is now.

One of the greatest promises of the gospel is that all will be made right in the end.  That no matter how short life may be, no matter how difficult or painful, no blessing will be witheld in the eternities for those who lived worthy of them here.  The other great promise is that we can be together again some day with those family members and friends who have gone on ahead. It’s those promises that give me hope, and I hope and pray they can sustain my Aunt Joane and the rest of her household in this time of sadness.

There are no real farewells.  Only ‘tll we meet again’s.