Til Death Do Us Part

I just got home from a funeral around 15 minutes ago for one of the sweetest ladies in my church.  The past year and a half had been marked with significant difficulty for her, except, in the last three months or so, she had taken an incredible turn for the better--she seemed to be back to her old self--vibrant, happy, and wonderfully uplifting to the people around her.  Then, one night about three weeks ago, she went to bed normal and her husband found her the next morning in a terrible state.  She was rushed to the hospital, and was immediately admitted to the ICU.  I had the chance to visit her about a week later, and she was hooked up to every tube and wire and plug imaginable.  Her husband was there when I arrived, and he said something that affected me profoundly.  He was brushing her hair away from her face and said, "You know, she would hate to know that anyone was seeing her this way, but, to me, she's as beautiful as the day I met her."  Yeah, I defy you to keep your composure after hearing such a thing.  Everything he did demonstrated the strength and beauty of their marriage which, after she died (last Saturday), I learned was a 58-year old marriage.

Now, I'm certain that my friends, Bill and Doris, had their fair share of arguments.  I'm sure that one, or both, of them blew things out of proportion on a number of occasions.  And, at the viewing last night, Bill told me that he could still hear her yelling at him about this or that.  I know that their life wasn't always perfect; they experienced significant pain, disappointment, fear and shame.  And yet, through it all, their marriage remained strong.

Doris would be happy, I think, to know that she and Bill have left an impression that will last well beyond their years on this earth, but she wouldn't take credit for a bit of it.