I am so very sorry for my late (very) reply to your post. I don't get much time these days to visit FR, and I miss it and all the wonderful and kind FReepers every day. I am also sorry about your Mother In Law, as I know how hard it must have been. When Melissa died, I was grateful for the fact her pain was over.
Can I tell you the story of what happened the day she died? I got the call about 9am on a Saturday. My son, then 2 1/2, was of course not told that she had passed. I knew it was coming, but it hit me like a brick in the face anyway. I spent the entire day in my bedroom. Late afternoon, my son asked me to come to our kitchen window, and said, “Mommy, look, it's Melly!”. And I said, “Where, baby, what do you mean?” He said, “It's Melly, she is in back yard.” And he pointed to the corner of our yard.
The next day, he came and got me again. He pointed outside and I asked him if he saw Melly again. He said, “Yes, she is in the sky and she is smiling.”
True story. Bless your Mother In Law and bless Melly and all who suffer. There is a point,that the suffering ends and smiles and love are endless.
Your Friend,
MOgirl
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, it was a terrible time in our family, really the very worst. To see her in that kind of pain...well, it is just indescribable. We, too, were grateful that her suffering was over. My husband were the only ones in the room when we watched her go, and it really was incredible. ‘Amazing Grace’ came on the radio, the sunrise just peeked over the horizon to reveal the most glorious colors, she opened her eyes to look upward, and then she went. It was so peaceful.
Interesting that you mentioned that your son said he saw Melissa. On the morning that Ellie died, it was 5:55am, my husband’s cousin woke up to see her in her bedroom. They were really close, sort of kindered spirits, if you will, making a lot of the same decisions about their lives, seeing the world the same way, marching to their own drum. She did not know that Ellie was gone because we hadn’t called anyone. She woke up, didn’t know why, looked at her clock. It said 5:55. She said Ellie looked at her, smiled with a face full of complete peace and joy, and just faded away. A few minutes later we called her parents to tell them the sad news.
As a Christian, I struggled with this, but after talking to our pastor, he set my mind at ease, and said, “I think we have a very great God and He can do anything.” We sort of wonder if He allowed Ellie to say goodbye to her to set her mind at ease. She has had health issues for years and also losing Ellie was really hard for her.
Thanks for relating your experience with your dear friend Melissa. It’s been 7 years since we lost Ellie, and the pain we all lived through during those terrible months was only tempered by the closeness we achieved, the measure by which our love grew for one another, and the sureness we were given that our faith in the Lord was the rock we could stand on.
Again, I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. They leave us, but in some way, the love shared remains.