December 7, 2013;

One of my closest friends died yesterday.  She's the one that was getting on my nerves about the piano playing, really makes that seem quite petty and unimportant.  Some how I knew it would.  She died alone, no one but the nurse was there.  Her family knew she was in the hospital but for reasons I do not understand they were not there for her when she took her last breaths.  I found out last night during Bible study and I still don't accept the reality of it.  When I found out all that came to me was "yes Gloria I'll play for you Sunday". 

Gloria spent a lot of time in prayer, she was gifted in the prophetic and enjoyed, well there was nothing about her faith that she didn't enjoy.  What was not as well known about her was her very eloquent writing.  She was gifted in the descriptive in such a way that it flowed with poetic depth.  She was able to write in a way that was so descriptive you could visualize and experience where she was in her writings.  I enjoyed reading her work, it was so good.  She was also an excellent cook.  She had a way of putting things together in a very tasteful way.  And she loved classical music, she would fill her house with it. 

Gloria never made her bed, she didn't want to and that would make me laugh.  She felt it was unnecessary since she was going to get in it that night.  She did the yard work at home.  She didn't feel like Mike would do it right so she always did it. 

She didn't like pain.  Pain of any level, it was something she was afraid of and couldn't handle.  It really scared her to be in any pain.  She would tell me "I can't handle any pain I don't have a threshold at all for pain".  I believe once the bone cancer settled in her back the way it did it scared her.  She would talk about her mother's cancer and how she died.  She explained that her death was such a painful experience and she didn't want to go out that way.  She felt that it would be the worst type of death to experience. 

One person told me today that she understood that I felt that she was alone but that Gloria wasn't alone when she passed.  She said she was surrounded by God and loved ones and it would have been a very welcoming experience for her.

I have very strong beliefs in this area.  I believe that death, very much like birth is a portal between this side and the other side.  And during this experience of death and birth the two sides have a merging that takes place for just a little while.  Especially during death.  In my family it is very important to be surrounded by family while the person is crossing over.  Even though God meets you along with loved ones we believe that the loved ones on this side should be part of the process sending the person in peace helping them to make the transition.  It is what we have practiced and to be honest it is mostly unspoken and simply expected. So my heart broke when I heard that she had been taken to a hospital out of town and that she had passed about an hour prior without her family, it was so unexpected.  However, she had already made a connection with the nurse who cared for her as she does with everyone she comes into contact with and it was her new friend that sat by her side during her passing and I am more than sure her angels and Jesus himself were in the room rejoicing at their new saint's homecoming. 

I know she's happy and feeling much better than she did while she was here.  I think the mourning is more for the loss of her, maybe more for myself since I will not be able to visit and commune with my friend until I  make that journey. 

Gloria I love you and will miss you