Bright, Wonderful Light

I attended the memorial service for my friend who recently died from cancer. The people at the service were amazing and they made the service stunning. The speakers, who are long time friends whom I didn’t know, shared so much about who she is. As I stated in my previous post, I did not know her long, but it seemed I knew her well. Listening to their stories, it became clear that in some ways I didn’t know her at all, but we all knew the same things about her at her core. Thinking of her I see bright, wonderful, reassuring, strong light. The best of what a human can be.

My friend was someone who drew people to her without trying. She affected me and so many others in ways that we had never experienced. I was dedicated to helping her recover from her disease – I couldn’t just let her die without giving what I could. Faced with death before her time, she did not allow life and her situation to bring her down. The people who were with her in her last weeks said that she maintained her light until the end as we know it.

The service was funny, happy, warm, loving, and more. I left feeling closure about what we didn’t start and what we didn’t finish. My sadness was left behind, and I was uplifted. Even in death she gave me her light.

Thank you, Melanie.