One thing about getting older that really sucks is losing people. In college and early adulthood, you and your friends lose their grandparents and that hurts but not deeply because they were old, right? Then a few years ago I and my friends started to lose their parents and that hurts much worse. Losing both of my parents in 4 months was one of the most searingly painful experiences of my life. And now my friends are starting to lose their parents, and I am deeply empathetic for their grief.
Today I went to a memorial service for a friend. At age 67, he had the energy and enthusiasm of someone much younger. But a rare and very aggressive cancer took him down in one month. So now I have entered the years of losing friends, and this is a new level of loss. Death is closer now, and more threatening. I have three friends who are widows.
I am fortunate in that I believe that death is a gateway to eternity, that because of the person of Jesus Christ, every believer has access to an eternity without pain or sorrow. And while that is very comforting and I believe in the deepest core of me that it is true, it doesn't make it any easier for me to see my friends without their husbands. Cindy and Bill were more than spouses, they were best friends and loved each other so deeply, just loved to be with each other more than anyone else. Whatever they were doing, it was good as long as they were together.
These losses, accelerating as they are year by year, take a toll and make me long for eternity. But not too soon. I don't want Jim to be a widower for long.
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