The End Of The Line

Today I received some disturbing news about a friend that I’ve known for several years. Actually the friendship came into my life by a friendship made by his lover.
Over the years of knowing him I became close to him. There were things about him that I didn’t care for but nonetheless I still had a connection to him.
For several years this friend was fighting with the AIDS virus and it was always so painful to see him trying to maintain a strong face in times of pain and suffering.
There were times when I didn’t care much for him because of how he treated my best friend, but on the flip side, as a person I cared for him deeply. Over the years he became a permanent fixture in my life. It’s funny but he was there to offer support when my partner passed away, and now I’ve just been informed of his passing.
Life can deal out blows that at times can knock us down, but then we remember the blessing behind the pain. To live on earth is pain, its suffering, its losing people you care for, it’s losing things you’ve worked so hard to maintain, and then having to start from scratch. There are times when we pray for an earlier departure from all of the hell we endure daily, and then there are moments when we pray for more time to enjoy the blessings, or just that extra time to get it right.
When someone you care for dies it removes something from your spirit but replaces it with something stronger and wiser. It prepares you until the day comes when you are called home. The fear of death is strong; as long as that fears remains the Lord sends messages to you through other people, allowing you to feel that loss, allowing those loved ones to come to you through dreams, feelings, moments, and many other indescribable encounters that only you would understand.
That is his way of telling you that your journey doesn’t stop here, it begins here. So when you are nearing the end of the line, know that the line is ever stretching and your journey is ever growing, so don’t fear the unknown, embrace it.