Friday 19 March 2010

Playing The Glad Game

On 15 March 2002 Mum died at the age of 93.  She chose to die whilst she had all her mental faculties although she reckoned that she had a forgettory and not a memory.  If that was a forgettory then I’m not looking forward to what I might have as I get older.  In the period before Mum died I was staying with CJ and Jo.  Mum was still living with them although she went into a nursing home for the last few days of her life.  She was not in the slightest bit afraid of dying and wanted to rejoin her family and friends who had already passed on.  I trust that she is happily united with them.

It was a very sad time but also a time of understanding.  When I returned to Lewis, among the many cards of condolences was one from an acquaintance whom I knew only fleetingly.  It rested upright in front of me on the breakfast bar for some time – longer than it should have done - without me responding.  Then one day I had an unexpected piece of news which prompted me to ring.

So as a result of Mum’s passing I received a card.  As a result of that card I made a phone call.  As a result of that phone call I made one of the most important friendships of my life.

Some would say that God moves in mysterious ways.  Some would say that it just happened.  Some would say that it was fate.  Some would say it was karma.  Whatever.  I offer no opinion.  All I know is that if that simple chain of events hadn’t happened my life would have been very different and very much the poorer for it.

In what seem to be the very worst of circumstances one can still play the Glad Game.

3 comments:

  1. I have so many things to say and no time to say them right now...I peeked in before my morning bus run, still having to wake up Lucien so that we can go in twenty minutes.

    There is a Scripture Verse that explains the direction in your words :)

    He does not Will that any of His chosen ones be left behind and enables the events in our lives to bring us closer to Him if we choose to ♥

    Love you, sweet, wise, friend.

    Now - I must get a move on :)

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  2. A word in the English language comes to mind... serendipity...

    Word History from thefreedictionary.com:

    We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that "this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word." Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...."

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  3. It's amazing, looking back, at how many of these chain of events we may recognize. It makes me smile.

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