Wednesday, March 01, 2006
A Kind of Smile
There once was a brother and sister who were 4 and 5 when their mother left them. They were the youngest in their family and had 1/2 brothers and sisters. Their dad married again, to a woman who was not very loving to these children. Eventually, that relationship also didn't last and this time Dad left. But dad left these children with a stepmom who didn't love them, and who treated them horribly.
The boy grew up and went to Vietnam, probably to get away from home; scared, confused, and intensely angry, which was the beginning of 35+ years of alcohol anddrugs. Maybe it was to numb the pain, or maybe to avoid the truth of his life. He died tonight. With a sister, a half sister and some friends from work surrounding him. They told him of their love for him. They told him that it was o.k. to go, to a place where he could be at peace, and have no more pain. He tried to speak back to them. Although his words could not be understood, his attempts were so sweet. He received the sacrament of the sick, and ashes for Ash Wednesday. He died with a kind of smile. Somehow the anger had dissipated, at least a little.
Once there was a young man, a new creation. He has arrived in a new and different place. It is strange, because he has no semblance of fear, anger, sadness, pain, abandonment, or confusion. He is surrounded by love, welcomed and doted upon; his mere presence is celebrated. He has clarity of thought, he has a happiness unlike anything he has ever known. And he wonders what he was ever so afraid of. He has a kind of smile. It's a smile of peace.
The boy grew up and went to Vietnam, probably to get away from home; scared, confused, and intensely angry, which was the beginning of 35+ years of alcohol anddrugs. Maybe it was to numb the pain, or maybe to avoid the truth of his life. He died tonight. With a sister, a half sister and some friends from work surrounding him. They told him of their love for him. They told him that it was o.k. to go, to a place where he could be at peace, and have no more pain. He tried to speak back to them. Although his words could not be understood, his attempts were so sweet. He received the sacrament of the sick, and ashes for Ash Wednesday. He died with a kind of smile. Somehow the anger had dissipated, at least a little.
Once there was a young man, a new creation. He has arrived in a new and different place. It is strange, because he has no semblance of fear, anger, sadness, pain, abandonment, or confusion. He is surrounded by love, welcomed and doted upon; his mere presence is celebrated. He has clarity of thought, he has a happiness unlike anything he has ever known. And he wonders what he was ever so afraid of. He has a kind of smile. It's a smile of peace.
