February 10 – “One of ‘those’ calls”

We had one of “those” calls yesterday.  The kind you can’t prepare for and never hope to have to deal with.  A very sweet lady in our church died.  Sharon went to be with Jesus in the presence of most all of her family.  She assured them over and over that she was ready and they shouldn’t worry about her.  Always thinking of others, even as she lay dying.  That was one special lady.  She will be missed.

We got the text that she had been taken to the hospital in Katy, Texas, around 10 in the morning.  We bundled up and headed out soon thereafter.  Being a Saturday, we hoped for little or no traffic.  I guess we got the “little” option.  We ran into one pretty bad slowdown on I10 just before the hospital exit.  Construction had blocked off two of the lanes.  We still got there shortly after noon. Around three we decided to go get a bite to eat.  Outback was nearby, and neither of us could remember our last visit there, so we gave it a whirl.  I had fried shrimp.  Chris had chicken on the barbie (Hmm.  Spell check keeps insisting I capitalize “Barbie.”  Should we have expected a hint of melted plastic on her chicken?).  The food was pretty good, but we remembered why we hadn’t been in a while.  The prices are a bit steep.  We did like our waitress, though.  She was doing double duty as the bartender as well.  That can’t be easy. 

We made it back to the hospital shortly after getting word that Sharon was gone.  The family stayed for a while, but finally started trickling back to their homes.  We waited with Doug until his son arrived to give him a ride home, and then we stayed a bit longer to greet the funeral director when he arrived to pick up the body.  Further arrangements are yet to come, of course.  Please lift a prayer or two up for this family when you get a chance.

Revelation 21:3 says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’”

Father, thank you for Sharon’s life and the positive influence she had on her husband and on the folks at Seaside.  Please walk with her family now.  Amen.