Monday, June 18, 2012

Families Are Bound By Love

“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” -- Mark 3:33-35

He was dressed in a Sunday suit, standing by the casket and greeting people. Her son and daughter-in-law mingled with the mourners. Her grandchildren were spotted around the room.

Except he wasn’t related to her at all. Not in the normal way. He wasn’t her husband or brother or son. And he wasn’t a boyfriend or housemate. He was a friend, a companion, someone to share the lonely days of old age with.

She was 92 when she went home to be with Jesus. She’d been a lifeline for him when he’d moved into the apartment across the breezeway five years before. He’d suffered the loss of his wife barely a year before the move. They’d had no children and he was all alone.

She’d followed her grandchildren to a town far from her home, only to have two of them move elsewhere. The remaining grandchild visited once every week or so. And there she was, no friends, no extended family, nobody to share her days with.

God knew what He was doing when He moved two lonely souls across from each other. Their friendship flourished. They attended the same church but she had never gotten involved in the social activities. He changed that and she was welcomed wherever they went. She gained friendships and her life filled up with laughter.

Slowly her body began to decline and she gave in to the pain. She stayed home most of the time because it just hurt too bad to walk. But he didn’t abandon her. They spent long hours, he in one recliner and she in the other, talking and passing the time. Friends sometimes are more comfortable than family.

He was with her when she became ill and convinced her to press the Life Alert button her son had insisted she wear. Her granddaughter met them at the hospital and the doctor performed emergency surgery. She never recovered and died less than two weeks later.

Her family listed him in the obituary, as they rightly should have. He wasn’t family by blood or marriage but he was family just the same. He’d loved her just as she’d loved him. Friends. Companions. Family.