Why are certain people so memorable, while some fade from our memories in time? This question crosses my mind often; there are many possible answers. When you are raising children, you realize that some people become very important to them, draw them in, accept and respect them. It changes them.
Several examples come to mind with my youngest son. He was always more comfortable around his dad’s friends than his own. He loved to spend time with them, fish with them, listen to their stories and just be with them.
He has experienced the loss of several really meaningful friendships over the past few years, and it has been very painful for him. One, Dr. George, was a neighbor and fishing buddy who would call to see if Ken could go fishing with him. Dr. George always said Ken was the son he never had and that it meant everything to him. He died very suddenly while fishing with all of his best buddies a few years ago. The gigantic hole that left in so many lives simply cannot be filled—for Ken it was immensely painful.
There was another fishing buddy of his dad’s, Frank, who was always fun to be around. Ken was very young then but really enjoyed tagging along with “the guys” when they were fishing. Frank and his family went to the Keys for the same week we did one year and the memory lingers to this day. Upbeat and happy, he was able to laugh at himself and accept everyone’s abilities or lack thereof, all qualities that impressed Ken so much.
When he became terminally ill, Ken drove from his home in North Carolina to Florida for an overnight visit with him. He died a short time later. The day after his funeral, Frank came to Ken in a dream and asked if he would take care of his wife, Carol. To Ken this was very meaningful, and today they share a special bond that Frank somehow knew would be important for them both.
Trudy gets so many questions and stories of end-of-life experiences from Guideposts readers, we decided to make her responses a regular feature on her blog. If you have a story about a “glimpse of heaven,” please share it with us. Send it to glimpsesofheaven@guideposts.org.
