I've written before about a high school teacher whose friendship and guidance saved me from committing suicide. She was my freshman General Business teacher and each year after I had her for at least one class. She would meet with me after school when she was in charge of detention. We would write to each other and she'd help me through some tough stuff.
During the past thirty years, we've managed to keep in touch though not as much as I would have liked. She and her husband own property up by my mom's and as it turns out both of us would wonder if the other were up there at the same time. I missed seeing her, talking to her and listening to how she was doing. Come to find out she was less than a forty minute drive from me.
On Nov 3, 2014, I was surprised to receive an email from her stating, "My husband needs huge health prayers. I'll tell you more later. Thanks sooo much. I know you're great with it."
About a week before she sent the email they found a large brain tumor. She kept me posted. They found out it was the most aggressive kind. He went through radiation, chemotherapy and everything they could. I tried to stay in touch with her, praying for her, for him, for the entire family, the awfulness of the cancer and anything that God put into my head. She'd chat with me from time to time just to have some normalcy. I could hear in her writing the weight she was carrying so I kept the small talk small and did not wander off into deep or unnecessary issues.
For the month of November, I sent an email every week. Words of encouragement, reminders of self-care and reassurance that what she's doing is okay. And then our communication naturally stopped. She sent a note at Christmas. When my bout with depression was so low at the beginning of the year and a few months into it, I sent an email to her in March checking in. I'd been having a sense that her husband was dying. I was already praying for them. When I didn't hear anything back from her, I checked the internet to see if he had passed. He hadn't. I continued to pray as often as I could realizing I was now dealing with my depression and the upcoming five year anniversary of my nephew's death. It was a lot to manage.
This past week is when I received her response to that email. Her husband passed away last Sunday evening. She gave me the arrangements and thanked me for the continued prayers and support. It's helped them through this "stinking stuff."
I will share with you how difficult it was to work through a bucket load of anxiety and many other emotions.
But that's for tomorrow.
During the past thirty years, we've managed to keep in touch though not as much as I would have liked. She and her husband own property up by my mom's and as it turns out both of us would wonder if the other were up there at the same time. I missed seeing her, talking to her and listening to how she was doing. Come to find out she was less than a forty minute drive from me.
On Nov 3, 2014, I was surprised to receive an email from her stating, "My husband needs huge health prayers. I'll tell you more later. Thanks sooo much. I know you're great with it."
About a week before she sent the email they found a large brain tumor. She kept me posted. They found out it was the most aggressive kind. He went through radiation, chemotherapy and everything they could. I tried to stay in touch with her, praying for her, for him, for the entire family, the awfulness of the cancer and anything that God put into my head. She'd chat with me from time to time just to have some normalcy. I could hear in her writing the weight she was carrying so I kept the small talk small and did not wander off into deep or unnecessary issues.
For the month of November, I sent an email every week. Words of encouragement, reminders of self-care and reassurance that what she's doing is okay. And then our communication naturally stopped. She sent a note at Christmas. When my bout with depression was so low at the beginning of the year and a few months into it, I sent an email to her in March checking in. I'd been having a sense that her husband was dying. I was already praying for them. When I didn't hear anything back from her, I checked the internet to see if he had passed. He hadn't. I continued to pray as often as I could realizing I was now dealing with my depression and the upcoming five year anniversary of my nephew's death. It was a lot to manage.
This past week is when I received her response to that email. Her husband passed away last Sunday evening. She gave me the arrangements and thanked me for the continued prayers and support. It's helped them through this "stinking stuff."
I will share with you how difficult it was to work through a bucket load of anxiety and many other emotions.
But that's for tomorrow.
