Somehow, he knew.
I was awakened extremely early this morning to the Good Rancher's shoulders shaking as he wept, almost in his sleep. On his Samsung pad were the hushed, joyful sounds of the song "Angels in the Room".
And he was praying for Ron.
He has been there. In just a few days it will be eight years since he lost his wife of 25 years, his partner, his other half.
And so, prior to the breaking of the dawn, he was praying for his friend Ron.
This morning we received the message, through Ron, from their daughter Sandy that we were anticipating, the message we were praying for, the message we were dreading:
"Late last night, with my Dad, my brothers and I around her bedside; Mom went home to Jesus.
We watched my mom suffer for a long time, she showed us everyday that:
Pain + Thankfulness,
Suffering + Joy,
Grief + Hope; with Jesus, these things coexist together. We wept and we laughed and then we all said goodbye. This is the journey we will walk until we see her face again. 🌹"
Now we who are left mourn. Now we rejoice.
Oh Ron. We glory with you and we weep with you. I think I told you this before, but a wise old pastor told my Dad at my Mum's funeral, "She is with God. And God is with us. So she's not very far away..."
But what a chasm is that infinitesimal distance today!
Oh, Sweet Jane.
