Friday, December 30, 2011

"Good Bye Letter to a Precious Friend"


Good Evening to All,

Tonight is a somber night for me. I am at a loss for words. I truly don't know what to say. How do you say good bye to a special and very close friend? My friend, my confidant, my sister in Christ, Neita, "went home" to Jesus last night at 10:00 pm. As a lot of you know, I have spoken about her in "prayer needs" for quite some time now. It is so hard for me. We "fit" together like "mutt and Jeff", peanut butter and jelly, or spaghetti and garlic bread.

We were like the "two musketeers". We did so much together. I catch myself wanting to call her and realize it's not possible. It won't be her voice on the other end of the line. I have told so many others that the feeling of loss does not get better, we just learn to "cope with it" better. I tell them this from my memories of the loss of my parents (mother specifically). I hope I can keep reminding myself of this in the days to come. It's been a long time since I have had to deal with a "personal loss" so I had forgotten the initial "sting" of death. ( I know the Bible says "O death where is thou sting", but I'm not referring to that. I am referring to the initial shock, disappointment, anger, and hurt we feel when we first hear about it. That to me is the "sting".

Neita had debilitating health issues for the last four years. It started with a tumor on her pancreas and ended up being hospitalized for almost 6 months because of complications. She finally was able to come home and seem to get steadily better, but was constantly having problems with diabetes. Which eventually lead to a stroke. She started recovering from the stroke, but soon went into a diabetic coma. She did wake up, but then had a heart attack (from what I could gather.) After that she went into respiratory failure.

It has just been one battle after the other for her. I prayed and prayed for her healing. I sincerely believe, no, I KNOW that God does heal because I have seen Him do it. The thing is, sometimes He heals us while we are still on this earth as He did for her several times, or He decides He wants to heal us when He brings us "home".

I have a choice to make. I can choose to be angry and upset with God for taking
this precious woman who meant so much to me away, or I can rejoice "IN MY sPIRIT that she met her final goal which was to make it to heaven to be with our Savior, which is what we should all strive for.

By the way, the lower case "s" was not a typo. I did that because to capitalize it would be using God's personification, because He is the Spirit and we have spirits.

Anyway, although I feel like I have cried myself out of tears, because I will miss her physical presence, her sweet voice giving me advice or "chastising me for a negative attitude" (which I need from time to time, 'the chastisement not negativity), and her fun spirit, I must remind myself that I should be happy for her in the sense that she has made it to where I long to be eventually.

I know I will see her again, and I wonder if we will be able to talk about "old times". Neita, I hope that there are Lots of Turtles in Heaven for you to collect.

Wherever you are up there in heaven, I hope that we will be meeting again.

Remember dearest friend, I love you.

I know I don't have to tell you this because being the precious Woman of God that you are, I know you will "rest in peace".

Lots of love and fond memories,

Patti aka

5 comments:

Alison said...

Patti, my deepest sympathies on the loss of your dear friend. I will keep you in prayer as you go through the mourning process. Love you, Alison

Starry Dawn said...

Hi Patti,
I am so sorry for the sad news about your dear friend.
I give you my deepest condolences for the loss of your dearest friend.
I'll be praying for you, Patti, and for her family.
It's hard to lose our best friends.
I've not seen this post until this moment. Your friend is with the Lord now. God bless you all!!
Prayers on your way,
Starry.

Frank E. Blasi said...

You have all my sympathies. The heart-wrench of losing a member of your family and at the same time, such a good friend as well, must be devastating. But also knowing that she is now home with the Lord surely makes the loss easier to bear.
With me, I can't be certain if my elderly parents, in their eighties, will enter Heaven when they leave this planet, although they do believe in God. All I can do is commit them to God asking him to draw them closer to his heart, and be thankful for his mercy. They are fully aware of my faith and what Jesus means to me.

I wish you a happy and fulfilling new year, and may the Lord be with you where ever you go.
Frank

Becky (So Very Blessed) said...

I am so, so sorry for your loss. I'll be praying for your heart, PJ.

lynette355 said...

Yes Katie told me that Neita had passed. My first thought was "Oh poor Pattie!" I am sure your heart broken. Neita is dancing though...loving the chance to feel whole in spirit in Heaven. I know she would do anything to help you through this. So know she is going on VACATION too. And it is much more sunnier where she is. LOL She loves you and is still with you in your memories.