I was going to write a happy post today. It was going to be filled with pretty pictures of things I’ve been working on. In it I hoped to say some witty things to make you smile. I was actually in the midst of mulling over what I’d say as I drove home from a trip to the happiest place on earth . . . Home Depot . . . when, Ding, Ding . . . went my phone, and the Messenger window popped open.
It was my friend, my life-long friend, letting me know that her husband had passed in his sleep on Sunday night.
I knew he hadn’t been well for a long while but still . . . it was a shock. You see, it was only yesterday that we were mere teenagers who double dated together. It was only yesterday that I was a bridesmaid in their Spring wedding. It was only yesterday when, only months later, she was to be a bridesmaid at my Winter wedding but was too embarrassed to stand up front with her pregnant belly. 🙂
Today’s post is a tribute to the life of my friends who, for the sake of privacy I’ll call:
Danny & Sandy
Danny was nothing short of COOL! He looked really tough . . . though he was as gentle as could be. He had a muscle car and Levi’s and shaggy hair and a beard. He was a big guy who road a Harley and didn’t look like someone you’d want to mess with.
Sandy was his opposite. She was a church girl who went to beauty school, had REAL blond hair and wore pretty clothes. She was a loving kinda gal but not a pushover by any means!
Over the years life happened and we drifted our own ways, Sandy and me. Whenever we did get together though it was like we’d never been apart and we always shared without reservation about the various struggles and triumphs in each of our lives.
Life wasn’t perfect for Danny and Sandy. They had, like most married couples, times where they weren’t sure they would make it. They had a bunch of babies who grew into adults, then those adult children gave them a bunch of grandbabies . . . They struggled and never gained great wealth but they had and have a family who is close and who loves deeply.
Life wasn’t perfect for me either. I made some bad choices. At times I opted out rather than persevere. I think I took a little longer to grow up and settle in. Eventually life turned around for me and became very good. That is where I am today.
So just a couple of weeks ago, when I posted on Facebook about our adventure down to Florida to buy a painting for my dining room my friend Sandy messaged me and said,
“Painting is beautiful . . . I look at it and see you . . . You have the most amazing life Patti.”
“Hahaha!,” I wrote back, “The amazing life of Patti Krank! You know me well my longest lifetime friend and you know my life is far from perfect. I have fun though and I am blessed.”
Her reply,
“Life is an amazing journey isn’t it! Trials and troubles come but when Jesus is the center of your focus He sees you thru…and then once you get on the other side of it you look back and realize his hand was on me and He was there all the time, seeing me thru…what a blessing.”
This loving message from someone watching her husband slowly die of congestive heart failure. And Danny . . . what kind of suffering has he been going through, knowing that his time was coming to an end? How hard it must’ve been to say goodbye to his beloved wife of forty years and his children and grandchildren.
Today, as we messaged back and forth Sandy said that she has the assurance that Danny is in heaven with the Lord. That assurance brings peace.
So you see now, why I couldn’t write a light and happy post today. Tears flow as I grieve for my friend’s heartbreak and this world’s loss of a wonderful husband and father . . . on Father’s Day. I think I also grieve a bit over how short this life really is . . . because it was only yesterday . . .
Tweet ThisBlessings,
