“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”-- Numbers 6:24-26 (King James Version)
UPDATE: My stepdad passed away under the care of excellent hospice professionals this afternoon. He died in the company of loved ones, with the knowledge that a veritable cast of thousands who could not be there were all pulling for him. He died having been able to say everything he needed to say to the people he needed to say it to.
On the one hand, this is a very hard thing for those he left behind and the days ahead will be full of tears.
On the other hand, we're going to laugh some too. Probably a lot. I ain't gonna lie; we are a story-telling bunch and nothing balms our raucous souls like funny, tender and well-told tales of family members who are gone but will never be forgotten.
Death is a relentlessly impartial impresario who will get around to us sooner or later. And in the face of that absolute fact, I can think of no greater blessings than being able to spend the final stanzas of one's life closing out the spiritual books in a way that brings peace, and giving those we love the gift of a proper and mutual farewell.
Go in peace old boy.
Thanks again to Frank Chow for the graphic at the ProLeft website and Heather at Crooks and Liars Video Cafe for their help. And don't forget, our archives are available for free with no downloads at Professional Left.
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