It seems everything I've seen and everything I've read for the last few weeks in someway has made me think of, or brought a memory of Dianne to my mind. Like the other day I read a piece where someone was talking about life. They said "Life is uncertain, life is very fragile, life can end at anytime, in the blink of an eye it can be gone. Then he went on to say "Therefore we should always eat desserts first." I have not only heard Dicy say this, I have seen her put this into practice. She loved her "sweets". Even when we were children I can remember her telling Dad, she needed some money so she could go to the little store at the corner of Leland Terr. and College Ave. to buy herself something that was a little sweet. I also remember not long ago, Dicy, Julian, Peggy and myself were out doing whatever for a day and we stopped at Pasta Bella for lunch. Dicy ordered a piece of cake for dessert and they brought out the biggest piece of cake I've ever seen. It was at least a 1/4 of a cake. Of course the first thing that came to Dianne's mind and the first words that came to her lips were...."Y'all help me eat this"..... To Dicy life was sweet....Life was a dessert....and life and it's sweetness was something that had to be shared. It had to be shared and share it she did. If you needed something you didn't have to ask. She wasn't one to say..."If I can help just let me know." She was one that if she could help you, she just "did". A more caring person I've never known.
Another thing I read a while back that made me think of Dicy was a poem by David Harkins. It's called "She Is Gone" and was shared at the memorial of a good friend of mine. It fit Dianne's life and what I know would be her wishes for us as well.
You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she has left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she's gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she would want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
That's what Dicy would want....For us to smile as we continue our walk through life....For us to open our eyes to the beauty and wonders God has given us in this place we call earth ........ She would want us to love one another, to enjoy one another and to share openly, not so much material things but things of our heart......and last she would want us to go on living life to the fullest.....To make sure we enjoy the "Desserts" of life.
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she has left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she's gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she would want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
That's what Dicy would want....For us to smile as we continue our walk through life....For us to open our eyes to the beauty and wonders God has given us in this place we call earth ........ She would want us to love one another, to enjoy one another and to share openly, not so much material things but things of our heart......and last she would want us to go on living life to the fullest.....To make sure we enjoy the "Desserts" of life.
The other day My nephew, Johnny Holders' mother, was sharing some pictures with me at hospice. They were pictures Johnny and Jill had taken on a recent trip to California to see their new grandson. It's strange what we sometimes see in photographs. Sometimes we see things or people that aren't even there. One particular picture was of Johnny and his four year old granddaughter on the beach walking toward the ocean. All you could see were their backs, the sand and this vast ocean that layed berfore them and that goes on for ever and ever. Johnny had the hand of his granddaughter and she had the hand of her grandfather. That's all the picture showed, but I saw so much more. I could see a love in those hands clasped together so tightly. It wasn't one hand holding the others hand. It was both holding each others hand. One hand offered protection and guidance. It offered assurance ......The other hand offered trust and confidence......Both hands offered a love that I do not have the words to explain but the photo someway showed that love. The photo showed a man and a child....a man and a child standing on what I like to refer to as the "Edge of Eternity". The sand being the edge of this life and the great ocean being the eternity. We know not exactly what is out there in our own eternity. We know not exactly what is out there in Dianne's eternity, but we do know it is beautiful. We do know that we will share it with loved ones. We do know it goes on for ever and ever. We know....we have assurance....we have confidence that our Father, our God has prepared a wonderful place for us. He has prepared a dessert bigger and sweeter than our minds can comprehend and one day we will walk in that place hand in hand.
1 Peter 1:3-5Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We love you Dicy
May God bless us all.............................................
