The last two weeks have been intense.
On a national scale, of course you had the deaths of MJ and Farrah.
On a personal level, my father in law has been in the hospital. A woman who was like a 2nd mother to my wife passed on after a long, courageous fight with cancer. I caught word that a business associate, a guy I interviewed with for a job a few years back, had a motorcycle accident and died at the age of 48.
48!?!?
And that's just my little corner of the world. Death has been all around. But then again, it always is. It seems to be in the spotlight these last few weeks, thanks mostly to the sensationalism of MJ's death. (I mean, the guy's funeral is going to be in the LA Staples Center of all places!)
In watching one of the non-stop news memorials on MJ, I was struck by the number of people who were absolutely bawling uncontrollably at the news that he was gone.
It made me think a few things. One, to each their own, but I can't imagine being that torn up over a death of a person that I had never met. I shed some tears when Johnny Cash died. I imagine I would if something happened to Bono, Steve Nash or President Obama (now there's a trio!). But for the most part, I can't imagine getting that worked up over someone who I only knew through watching them on TV or the Interwebs.
Now, somebody I know and love...that's a different matter entirely.
Which brought me to my second thought: Who will cry when you die? That's the name of an incredible book by one of my favorite authors, Robin Sharma.
It's also a powerful thought. What do you and I need to accomplish to make our short life here on Earth count? Who are the people we want to become, so that when we pass from this life into the next, tears on Earth are shed from the people that we've helped - just as tears of joy in Heaven are shed as we're welcomed into Eternity.
So that's what's on my mind.
Who will cry when you die?
Who do you think? Who is it for you?
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1 comment:
Wow...good question.
It's started me down a path of thinking like this:
"I hope the memorial of my death -- in whatever form it takes -- is more celebration than somber, more happy than sad, more of a party than of people sitting around moping."
Yes, I know that death isn't something to embrace or hasten, and that the gap in our lives when a loved one departs is real and painful. But if I were to read the paper today and read "Lance McCluskey wins $1 million tax free!", my natural reaction would be celebration and happiness. How much greater, then, is the reward we get upon leaving this world and falling back into the arms of our Dad?
I know we've gotta be careful as we head down this path, because downplaying the loss of someone special can have tragic consequences for those of us left behind. Shouldn't our sorrow be greater, though, when we hear about a lost person dying than when we know someone is going home to be with the Lord? Maybe that's why we should be sad for Farrah and Ed and Michael, because we just don't know where their heart and faith were when they passed away.
Definitely something for more conversation down the road...
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