Preparing for Loss

On our last trip to M. D. Anderson, we discovered Don was going to die within six weeks. As the doctor left, the phone rang and my aunt said “Dawn and Johnny are fine, but there was a fire and your house burned.”  I turned to Don and shared this news.  Then I asked, “Do you care?  His reply was “No, do you?”  I answered, “No, I don’t care”.  We told my Aunt that called “We do not care that the house burned, but we are coming home tomorrow.   

GIFT:  What happened was huge.  In one second, I internalized “Relationship in life is what is important, not anything we own.”   

I have learned that every prayer turns into a gift.  Sometimes the answer is “no.” I focus on God’s unexpected gifts to help me through whatever difficulty is facing me. It may be as simple as a smile meant for me from someone on an elevator.   I take note.  That might be my gift for the day.  

GIFTS: The fire in our home brought a friend that was head of ENMU’s ROTC program.  Merle and some of his ROTC members arrived right after I pulled down a bedspread with soot all over it and got Don in bed. No soot under the covers. They wanted to share an idea with us.  “We would like to move your family into the partly constructed home Don began before his cancer.” We listened and agreed that would be good since fire had damaged part of our home and soot was everywhere else. They planned to move us first into our bedroom that relatives and others surprisingly worked on while we were gone.  Next they would clean the soot off all that could be saved.  It was amazing to us that they thought they could do all of this today.  Don lived in his house a few weeks before he died.  That was a huge gift for him and an easy move. 

ANOTHER GIFT:  A few days following our move into the unfinished 4,000 square foot home, I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door and the woman standing there introduced herself.   Smiling, she said, “Susie, do not cook anything for you and your children for supper. From now on, every meal will be brought to you no matter how long this takes. I was so very grateful and surprised. 

God does bless us.