Day 34

Death is a very strange thing. Sometimes you're ready for it, and sometimes you're not. Both ways have drawbacks and benefits. Either way though, it's final. Death is never fun to go through, even if you are a Christian. It still hurts. Really bad. Knowing someone is free from the confines of this world and their human bodies of pain and sin, and are in the presence of their Creator, is definitely helpful in the grieving process, but it still is hard to go through.

A dear friend of ours, and a pillar in our church for the last 20+ years, passed away unexpectedly this morning. Josephine was a lady who always had something to say, and you always knew where you stood with her. I loved that quality about her, even if it was hard being on the receiving end, because there were never any guessing games. And man, she could play that piano! I had the privilege of both participating with and leading Josephine on our worship team for the past five years. It wasn't always easy, for her or for me. With the upfront quality she had, sometimes her intentions could be misunderstood, and she had very definite opinions of how she preferred things. Don't we all though?

Through the growing pains of our worship team, Josephine, and her equally important counterpart, Donna, always stayed with us, hard as it was, and pushed through while learning new songs, putting up with increased guitars and drums, and enduring my and other's eager notions to try an old hymn a new way. Josephine taught me a lot, mostly indirectly, and I'm sure I'll continue learning from her even though she's gone. She taught me about the importance of caring for all generations. She taught me the importance of generosity. She taught me the importance of roots and history. She taught me the importance of loving and serving your husband and family. She taught me how to quiet a noisy congregation down with a beautiful song. She taught me that a well placed run on the piano can fit into pretty much any song sung in the church! She taught me how to love a granddaughter well. She taught me that not everyone loves minor keys! She taught me to pay attention to details. She taught me about loyalty. She taught me how to truly love the church as part of my family. For those things, I'll forever be grateful! And as long as I don't forget those things and I incorporate them in my life, Josephine will still be around in my heart!

I truly will miss this dear woman, and I look forward to when we can worship together again in Heaven! I will very much miss singing hymns with her playing alongside Donna behind me. I really pray that Jesus has a piano there for her to play, and as my little friend Ezri told her mommy this morning, "when we get there, we can hear her music again so we can dance!"