My Friend Rose

Three weeks of Heavenly Bliss...three weeks of no pain...three weeks of perfect living...three weeks of life with Jesus. And the three weeks will go on and on and on. There are no nights, there is no time, its all eternal. I can't even imagine.

My friend Rose crossed the River into Glory after a battle with cancer. She was a hero in the fight, she did not complain and she LOVED to laugh. It was so easy to laugh with her...she bubbled and laughed loud and often.

Rose was at the same clinic for cancer treatments that we were with Jonathan. I did not see her during her very worst times of sickness in 2013 but we did spend lots of time in the chemo room together. I always figured the other people must have thought we were a crazy bunch of people, we 6, Lynn and Bernice, Owen and Rose and Jonathan and I, telling funny stories and laughing while the 3 sick ones were taking chemo. We sat together and cared about each other, sharing food to help the nauseousness and talked about all kinds of things. But we laughed a lot! Rose and Lynn made that happen.

When Rose was having issues with her teeth because of radiation affects and needed to have them worked on, I was amazed at her ability to take chemo in the morning then sit on the dentist chair in the afternoon. And I dreaded the dentist chair with a strong body. Her attitude was...Why not? it has to be done so I might as well get it done, I'll make it!I NEVER EVER heard her complain. The only thing I can remember her being down about was leaving the children behind when she went to Mexico for treatments. Her Mother heart did not want to leave her children. When her chemo played tricks on her and kept her from sleeping she did not lay in bed feeling sorry for herself, instead she would find something to do or read and she would tell us about it like it was perfectly normal to be sitting on the couch reading in the middle of the night!

We 3 couples took a taxi to a restraunt one night for supper. You have to understand that things are done differently in Mexico then they are here. The taxi cabs were mini vans and there were 6 of us so naturally we thought we would fill up one taxi or at least almost. Low and behold the taxi that stopped for us already had 3 people in it. I hesitated to follow the rest in because in my opinion it was full but the driver waited and urged me in. We squished ourselves into that van on our husbands laps and totally laughed ourselves silly! I am quite certain the other people had reasons to believe we were a bit crazy. What they did not know is that 3 of this group had been through the stress of chemo that day and with tight nerves and emotions we were prone to laughter or tears at any time. In this case it was laughter with tears. I tried to take a picture but even that did not come out right because we were to tight together. Those are memories that still make me smile!

Rose lived her life with purpose and joy. She gave of herself and did what she could in spite of sores on her feet and on her hands and in her mouth. She loved life and her family. I only knew Rose since 2013 but she stirred in me the desire to be optimistic and make the best out of every situation. Her life was very inspiring!

 I wonder what she laughs about in Heaven...I wonder many things.

I went to TX for her funeral. Funerals have a way of bringing all the grief right back at me but there is no way that I could miss going. It was very important to me. And its always good to meet the  friends who have walked this cancer journey with us. And life continues......

I have been very busy with many things. I have in the past dreaded winter....long dark evenings...and just that cold depressed feeling. This year however I have been very busy and the winter has not been long and boring yet! I have been to TX, PA and TN in the past 2 weeks. So it is really hard to get the projects done that  I need to do. I have been painting and need to do some more in the next several days and then I will be helping with painting at Justin and Jessica's house after they have closing next Friday. That wedding is coming up really fast! At least for me it is. Opinions could vary depending whom you asked!

One month of the new year is already gone. I don't think I made any new years resolutions. I just have some goals that are a continuation of the past several years. One of them is to deal with STUFF that does no good around here. I am constantly amazed at the stuff that I have stored over the years and as I get older and expect to some day live in a smaller house I know I will not want to keep storing it. The problem is that it has no value to anyone, not even to me other then just being sentimental and I am realizing I must be worse at that then I knew I was. Being sentimental is a sort of bondage that I hate. I dream of attics that are mostly empty, of drawers that are holding only the things I want them to hold, of closets that mirror the pictures on Pintrest showing perfect order....a place for everything and everything in its place. I read books on how to declutter but when I try the technic with a box for goodwill, a box for the trash and a box to give away....well! there is still reasons to keep the stuff and I end up rearranging my stuff. Puzzles and games and toys of long ago hold memories and the grandchildren might have fun with them....never mind the truth that the stuff is old and not very attractive to any little people. Someone said once that its a good idea to be a little mad when you are working at deep cleaning, it helps you throw out more stuff. Hmmm....I wonder? Another reason I don't even like to work on such things is because I find to many memories and then I stop and look at pictures for a long time and then I get sad and depressed and well, its not very profitable. So, of course I would rather paint my laundry room and give it a fresh happy look. I'd rather make fried pies and be really busy with many things and let the attic alone. I'd rather work hard and get really tired then have a perfect house and organized closets and then feel empty and sad. So my work is simply a progression, slowly but surely, little by little. I took a pair of shoes out of my closet that I had for several years and only wore a few times. They were so uncomfortable! I felt so accomplished when picked them up and said to myself," They've got to go". And they went.

I wonder if God is doing that with me. Little by little He prunes my branches. I need to trust Him more so He sends a storm that rocks my boat and forces me to cry out to Him, He wants to sharpen my forgiveness to others so he allows someone to ruffle my feathers and I get a lesson in forgiveness. Maybe I need to have my faith strengthened and He sends me a message of hope at just the right moment. I'm so grateful for a patient God who works on me slowly but surely, who understands my failures and weaknesses and does not give up on me in despair. I love that He knows my heart and my deepest longings. I love that He is my best Friend!

I think about Heaven a lot because Jonathan is there, because Bernice and Rose are there. We all fought the same battles and cried the same tears, ours fears were real. Their work is done, their missions accomplished and their victory is eternal. No pain, no tears no disappointments. I can't even imagine!

Are you a work in progress? Someday your work will be done, allow God to do His work in your life. It will be worth it all!