Marital Talk

Death happens every day, maybe not to us or someone we know, but it is a fact that it eventually will touch us in ways that are painful and hard to deal with.
How do we support our loved one when it touches his or  family? I think one big way is to make his family my family.It has been said that when you get married, you are marrying not only the person, but their whole family. I have found this to be true for me and Dan. Our families were both so excepting of and welcoming to us being a couple. It was almost as if my family adopted him, and his adopted me I guess.
Today we went to a funeral for Dan’s Aunt Frances. She was his father’s sister-in-law. This death, though a loss, is not painful. It had been about 5 years since I have seen her, but I still felt a loss.
When someone dies, our lives change- even if we only saw the person once in a while, there are still changes. I won’t be asking how she is doing anymore when our cousin Donna calls. Memories of time spent together becomes more important. As I listened to Dan, his brother, sisters, father, and cousins talk about childhood memories, I felt like I was a part of it- though I wasn’t part of the family yet.
Remembering the good times we have had with people is one of the things that help us go on, even in times of death. I have been a part of this family for 27+ years, so they are a part of me. I am married to them.
One thing that was said today, is that we need to learn from the people in our lives, reap what we can and become people we would like to know. It was also asked for each of us to think about what people would say of us at our own eulogy? Are we living lives that are worthy of the people we love? Are we setting examples others will want to follow, and would we be deseving of being thought highly of?

As a woman in her mid 40’s (yes dad, I am that old!), I sometimes get caught up in thinking I have a lot of time ahead of me, but the reality of life is, you just never know. My goal is to be living a life worthy of that which I have been called- loving God, loving others, raising my children to know Him, being a faithful and loving wife- these are the things I know I am supposed to do. I only hope I am doing them well enough that I am a good example, and that when my time comes, God will tell me “Well done!”