Lessons From the Edge

For years, everyone at Edgewood has been blessed to be in the company of a very precious couple. P and G have been married for 73 years and have lived at Edgewood for the past several. Yes - like so many others - P and G are my favorite residents!
P's health has been failing for some time, and a week ago Tuesday he passed on into the arms of Jesus. (He'd been yearning to go Home for so long!)
Monday was his funeral, and G asked me if I would sing. I'd gone up to their apartment last Tuesday to say goodbye to P, and at that time I knelt by his bed and sang Amazing Grace for him. She wanted me to sing it at the funeral, too.
And as I came to the last verse - singing about our eternity praising God in heaven - I was overjoyed to have nearly everyone in the church singing along with me.
The pastor closed with prayer, and then I sang one more time. Goodbye For Now, by Kathy Troccoli. It was a gift I wanted to give G and the rest of her wonderful family. To recognize their pain in the loss of P, but to remind them of the hope we have.

The hope of Forever.

It was a beautiful way to end P's service, and I was so happy with the peace God brought to people through it.
P was 96 years old. He and G have been husband and wife for 73 of them. Seventy-three and a half, actually. He will be missed tremendously.
But because of the gift of God through Jesus Christ, we know we're simply saying, Good-bye for now.