A Rose For Carol
A Rose for Carol
Friends – This is a memorial tribute to someone very special in my life who left this world just a few days ago. Carol was my husband’s cousin, and she had become a very dear friend in my life.
When someone we love dies, even though we know it eventually happens to all of us, we’re still taken aback, stunned, and shaking our heads as the news sinks in and we realize how short life is.
What a difference a few days, even weeks, can make when someone dear is stricken with an illness and then loses their valiant fight against a terrible disease.
It had been a difficult week emotionally. My husband had to have arm surgery, and on that same day, we got home from the hospital only to hear the sad news of Carol’s death.
We were stunned.
I’m still feeling sad over her loss. She was a shining light in our family, and we’ll all miss her terribly.
I heard someone at the interment service yesterday say that “Carol was the glue in our family.”
That is so true.
Heart of the family
Every family reunion or gathering, Carol was right there at the heart of it – always enthusiastic and ready to join in the fun and get the party started.
I first met Carol at a family reunion many years ago. My first impression? She had a larger-than-life personality and a contagious laugh. You couldn’t help but join in. We liked to joke that, at the reunions, Carol’s table was the place to be!
She was fun to be around, no question, and she would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. Carol had a voice that, I believe, was loud enough to reach to heaven. God gave her tremendous gifts to display His glory here on earth.
Everyone mattered to Carol. If you were in a conversation, she was focused on you, and you were THE most important person in the room. She also had a servant’s heart and great compassion for people.
A Servant’s Heart
Back in 1997, our family was in a terrible accident near Jackson Hole, and our 9-year-old niece died. My husband and I flew home to Texas, and my leg was still in a cast. Our niece’s funeral was out of state, but at that time, I wasn’t in any shape to get back on a plane to attend the service with the rest of my family.
Enter Carol, one of the most sincere people I have ever met. Carol jumped at the chance to minister to us after that accident. She arranged it with my husband to come over, spend several nights, and she took care of me so that he could fly back to attend our niece’s funeral. Not only did Carol act as a caregiver for me, but she was also there to lend a comforting ear – to be a friend and a shoulder to cry on. One of those mornings around two a.m.; I felt the need to try to walk to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if Carol was even going to hear me in the next room where she was sleeping. But, she was up in a flash. She walked into my room and made sure I got in and out of bed okay.
Carol was a blessing. She never expected anything in return for caring for me, but I went out and bought her a little birdhouse for her yard, as a “thank you.” It was the perfect gift. After all, when I was around her, she always seemed to have a song in her heart.
I’m upstairs in my office right now writing this blog post. I hear songbirds outside chirping at the bird feeders in our yard.
I’m thinking of you, Carol.
See you on the other side.
