Taxes and death

Those are the two sure things in life.

Today is tax day. I finished my taxes several weeks ago.

Yesterday I learned that one of my dearest friends lost her husband. We'd been warned to prepare for this. But the truth is, there is no way to prepare for death.

Ben and Connie were married for over fifty years. Did they have hard times? Of course they did. Hours after they were married they were in a horrible auto accident. Because of the accident they started their marriage with huge hospital bills.

They had other hardships over the years. But the one thing that was consistant, was their devotion to the other.

Fourteen years ago the doctors told Connie that Ben probably had a couple years at most. He had advanced prostate cancer. Yet that wasn't what finally took Ben.

I didn't know Connie or Ben before his cancer. So, I have no idea how much he changed or if he changed at all with it.

Nothing in my memories of Ben pertains to a sick man. He had more energy and life than people half his age. I never heard him sound down, frustrated, tired, or any of the things that might be a sign that he was tired of the fight.

I did hear about his goals and dreams and all the things he still had left to do. And that was after having a life filled with so many goals and dreams already achieved.

Connie is a true feminist. Yet Ben was her life.

As much as I regret that there is now a world without Ben, I worry about Connie.

I wish she wasn't on the other side of the country. I wish I was closer to her during this horrible time for her.

As great as Ben was, Connie is equally as impressive. She's one of the best friends I've ever had. I worry that when she lost her wonderful Ben that the rest of us may have lost a huge part of Connie. And if that happens it will be a truly devastating loss for everyone.

Please pray for Connie. Please pray for her to find the peace that she'll need as she faces a life without her Ben. For theirs was a love that impressed everyone who was lucky enough to be a part of their lives.

She knows she was lucky to have had Ben for over fifty years. But today, the first day of the rest of her life without Ben in it, that really doesn't matter. What matters is the huge gapping hole in her heart.

Hold your loved ones close.