“When I see a rainbow, I’ll think of you and all the colour, joy and love you brought to the people around you. You are special and don’t you every forget that”.
Shortly after writing my last post about being a good enough parent, I received a call that caused my heart to leap into my mouth. A tragedy had occurred and the 20 year old son of a family I knew had died.
How well I knew them and what actually happened is not appropriate to discuss publically. Suffice to say that I went to the funeral and wept for him, for them and for the tragic end to a young life. They as a family were so brave, especially when they brought in the coffin, that it made me cry even more. Thankfully for them they have a strong faith and that must help hugely during such bleak times.
I don’t know how possible it can be, even if you have total belief in heaven and the afterlife whether there won’t be times that you rage against the unfairness of life and of why…why he had to be a chosen one, a special one and I presume that there will still be pain and grieving and deep, dark moments of trying to find your way out of an impossible place and ways to fill the vast space for the family that he has created. All that nothingness suddenly. How do you cope?
No parent should have to go through that. No sibling either. But I’m glad I was there. Glad I was there in a church full to the brim of people having to blow their noses during the entire service. None of us can do a great deal to help, but I imagine that the support and comfort for the family in having a full to bursting church of people will at least remind them, not only of the impact he had on so many peoples lives, but of how many people are here to help if we can. A community of people, brought together with one common purpose – to sing as loudly as possible and it is extraordinary how close you can feel to the stranger next to you when there, united by one spirit.
As Bob Geldof said recently in an interview about his daughter Peaches when asked how he was coping “I don’t think you have an option. If you have had it happen, you know it. If you haven’t you can’t imagine it”. Simple as that. So true, just an unimaginable grief.
It reminds us that we should all try and enjoy the present and be thankful for what we’ve got because you just don’t know what tomorrow may bring. Hug your loved ones tight and be thankful.
They had this poem included in the service, which was beautiful and it held a lot of meaning for my family personally because when we delivered our father’s ashes to The Victoria Falls, a double rainbow appeared miraculously and it’s that very rainbow that is in the above photo:-
RAINBOW
You are special and don’t you ever forget that.
For you have the ability to bring beauty
even when the rainy clouds clash against the sun,
inspiring and amazing everyone you meet.
It is impossible not to love you,
for you have the brightest eyes, the kindest smile
and the warmest laugh.
I may not see you all the time but you are a constant in my life,
a source of happiness, causing laughter and smiles from everyone.
Even when you disappear from our eyes, I know that you are the
arch of colours visible in the skies,
watching over your family and friends.
So when I see a rainbow, I’ll think of you and all the colour,
joy and love you brought to the people around you.
So when I see a rainbow, I’ll think of you and all the colour,
joy and love you brought to the people around you.
You are special and don’t you every forget that.
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