First Day of Spring and an Anniversary

Today is usually a very happy day for me.  I love springtime! I love when seasons change! I love how Jehovah made the earth with the different seasons.  12 years ago we gained another reason to be happy on March 20th, our firstborn daughter, Megan, was married to our very favorite and only son-in-law Blaine. But today was an especially different day for us.  We woke up to a 4am phone call to tell us that our niece, Martha, who has been battling kidney cancer lost her fight.  She was a delight to all who knew her. We know that she will be remembered by God in the resurrection.  Then at 6:30pm we attended a memorial service for a 54 year old friend of ours who had just gone in for a gall bladder micro surgery and suffered a stroke that led to further complications.  Her husband greeted us with a warm hug and told us to love each other and be glad that we have each other. The services were very nice and personal, asking us to remember her, to remember her and how she loved clothes and shoes, and how she loved to teach people about God's promises.  There was standing room only in the audience and at the end we all joined in singing "See Yourself When All Is New" song #134 which was emotional.  I made my way to Robin who had given up his seat and had been standing in the back.  When I got to him, Robin said that his phone had been buzzing, so right on cue my phone started buzzing. It was from our daughter Sage who had been with my sick brother's family since last Thursday afternoon.  I answered it and asked if this was the call and she said yes, my brother Manuel had died.  He had died about 6:45pm.  He had been under Hospice care in his daughter's home.  His family was there...his children, and grandchildren. Sage said that towards the end when they knew that his end was near they had all gone into the bedroom and surrounded him.  I am so glad that he was not alone.  I know that on some level he knew that they were all there and that they loved him.  I will miss my favorite brother.  My heart is very sad right now knowing that I will not see him until the resurrection. I am proud of the way his family has handled his sickness.  On the plus side spring did not officially start until 7pm or so; so it still was "the winter of our lives" and it was a most awful end to a season that I have experienced   I will attend the services.  I will miss them both terribly.  I will take comfort from the Bible's hope of a resurrection to a peaceful world where both will be able to pursue their artistic interests.  Where no one will get sick and die.  Spring will mean a new start for me, in a new town.  The seasons are changing.