Losing a loved one can be a moment of peace and lead you to become more in tune with who you are.

It is when we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives meant the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate now knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."
Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude

I lost my best friend yesterday; a person of great love and grace. I felt his passing as a gentle breeze that left me refreshed and at peace. His passing was marked by a quiet sigh that settled deep within my heart. I lost my father and the world lost a gentle soul.

He spoke of love and the need for giving others its gifts and of the need for forgiveness in a world of sorrow. He lived a way that is rare today and by just being himself he changed the lives of all he touched. He was a man of God who spoke eloquently of the need for Spirit in our lives. He held my hand so many times but as he grew older I could feel his strength decreasing and knew that his time was coming close.

The past 5 years were difficult years for him. He could see his body becoming more and more frail. He resisted the onset of aging and even before he passed at age 90 he showed a pride that strengthened my heart. How many people have you known who could gift you peace by just being with them? How many have you known whose gift you missed because of your ‘busy schedule’ or your ‘lack of time’?

A gentle breeze passed through my world and gave me the gift of love. His gentle soul walked along its path sprinkled love, encouraged peace, and gave others his strength to see the world differently. How can you ever make sense over such a loss?

As he lay in his bed knowing that his life was ending he gave a sigh. Quietly, reverently, and with love he simply said, “It’s beautiful, it’s nice”. What a gift to leave those he loved. What a way to begin his new chapter as he moved passed this world into the next.

We think that life is beautiful at times and that at times we think it’s nice. What he saw was beyond the scope of our understanding and left all who surrounded him with a knowing of the Spirit’s love. It’s beautiful, it’s nice are words that are ingrained in my heart. He gave me his final gift as he entered his new world. I know that what waits all of us is not to be feared but to be embraced for it is beautiful, it is nice.

In His Garden
God looked around His garden and found an empty place.
He then looked down upon the earth and saw your tired face.
He put His arms around you and lifted you to rest.
God's garden must be beautiful. He only takes the best.

He knew that you were suffering. He knew you were in pain.
He knew that you would never get well on earth again.
He saw the road getting rough and the hills were hard to climb.
So He closed your weary eyelids and whispered, "Peace be thine."

It broke our hearts to lose you but you didn't go alone.
Part of us went with you the day God took you home.
If tears could build a stairway and heartaches make a lane,
We'd walk a path to heaven to be with you again.

- Source Unknown