Matthew 5:4: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
A Brief Aside about Grieving
Quite honestly, I’ve struggled with this post, trying to pick the right time to write it after my sister’s death on Tuesday, April 27. I wanted my emotions to be under control to the point where I was actually able to sit down at my keyboard and compose the content. I’ve lost other members of my immediate family, my Mom and my Dad, but it has been a long time since I experienced that feeling of loss.
I think that most people when they are grieving look for a way to handle the grief and to process their feelings in a way that lightens the burden of losing someone that you cared about. I decided to do a long run yesterday, and the day before I was lap swimming. The whole time I was running and swimming, I thought of my sister.
Who She Was
My subject is my recently departed oldest sister, Beth. I wasn’t asked to write her obituary, but she deserves a lot of praise for the way she lived her life. She received praise at her recent memorial service, people expressed their thoughts about what a fine person she was. In my own words, as her brother, this is what I have to say about Beth:
I think Beth accomplished the most in her life by being who she was, a loving, caring person who was willing to reach out unselfishly to others. In her professional life she was a career counselor who helped many people orient their lives in a positive way and find self-sufficiency.
The back cover of her book, which was published right before she died, summarizes Beth’s life this way:
“Beth Blazek Buckles Deans is a widow, mother and great grandmother, small business counseling person, educator, horseback rider choir member, skier, professor, and Christian who supports persons seeking to find their fitting career. She has provided her insights and histories of clients who have found their path.”
Here’s the publisher’s link if you’re interested in checking out her book.
Beth had a wide range of musical tastes, but I thought I’d close with this Vivaldi piece.
Vivaldi: Four Seasons (Spring)
Tags: character, family, grief, love, remembering, saying goodbye, serving others
Looking for a Rufous 
Leave a comment