Saying that Final Good Bye when a loved one passes away is one of the hardest journeys one can take.

The age and circumstances can affect you in ways you never imagined. Sometimes the ill-health of that person can make it a little easier because you do not want to see them suffer anymore, so it becomes a release for them and perhaps for you.

Sometimes it is an unexpected accident — one that you could never have considered as a possibility. Tragedy can break your heart because it is so sudden.

Then the details, expenses for burial, paperwork, rules and regulations come into your awareness. Who knew how complicated it would be? It would seem that an original of the Death Certificate is needed for just about any transaction. It can take weeks or months to take care of the business.

It is said that about 96 percent of people do not have a will or express their wishes in a written document like the Five Wishes as a Living Will. Do those people in the 96 percent understand the negative impact of such an act of omission? Could they not see what a morass of regulations that they are leaving for their families?

As for me, my dear mother passed away recently. Her last month was filled with suffering that even narcotics could not take away. She was surrounded by caretakers who truly cared for her, including family members.

When I looked down at her for that last time, saying a prayer for her on my lips and in my heart, I knew she was finally at peace and without pain. In our belief system, she has become “absent from the body but present with the Lord.” Her Spirit is in a better place. She was set free from a failing shell that just could not house it anymore.

Will I miss her? Of course, every minute of every day. But I believe in God Mail — my thoughts and words to her will be delivered instantly by the best transmission system in existence. Hence, I know that I can still “talk” to her freely. I want her to see through my eyes the beautiful flowers she loved so much on this plane of existence, so I’ll send her a “snapshot” of the Beauty I partake of, or of the loved ones she cared about, or any other thing which I consider important.

I do not know how others who do not have a faith/belief system survive this moment, and the moments to follow. I can only think of the emptiness that must be a part of that. Which faith/belief system that you have is not a factor here. But one must believe in something in order to get through this trying time.

How about you? Have you chosen to take a moment or two to express your wishes in a legal way? I highly encourage you to do so. Not one of us is going to get out of this world alive, so think about it. It would make a tremendous difference to your affairs and those who would have to deal with all the problems created thereby through a lack of a written document.

Life itself will go on for me. The Memorial Service details are almost finished. There will be that moment of one final Good Bye to my beloved mother. But I rest assured that Her Spirit is doing just fine where she is now.

Remember, life is made up of choices, minute by minute, and day by day. Have you told someone, “I Love You!” as they go out the door? It does not matter the age or circumstances. It may be the last words you can express to that person. 911 taught us that in a dramatic way. We have no guarantees.

God’s blessings upon your journey!

Forever in our Hearts