On yet another of our family's collection of sad Thursdays, my cousin Patti made her journey to heaven. Of the many wonderful Christians I have known in my life, hers was the most beautiful soul. Some share her Spirit-given gift of encouragement, but few could be as selfless in the face of suffering. Besides the years of MS and the breast cancer that spread to her brain and then took her life, there were hard home situations. Her first marriage ended in divorce, but the years of living estranged in the same home (at her in-laws insistence) taught their sons that it is okay to disrespect your mother. A lesson they learned so well, that they did not even visit their mom before she died. Her sons are also estranged from work and living independently, but not from law enforcement.
Her family of origin, my Mom's sister's family, virtually cut off contact with Patti in later years, mostly because of her faith in Christ. My cousin Arlis, who now lives in Boise, is the one who told me six months ago that Patti had brain cancer. Our branch of the family has been praying for her since we found out. Wednesday night Patti's second husband, Billy, let Arlis know Patti was nearing the end. Arlis came to keep watch with her and texted me. For a variety of reasons, none of her family came. We were not surprised. But this post is not to air a load of our family's dirty laundry. Patti would not have wanted that.
If she was unwelcome in her first marriage and her family home, that has been more than eclipsed by the welcome Patti received in heaven. Her marriage to Billy was happy. He and Patti's friends from church took care of her round the clock in her final weeks. Patti saw the beauty in her life and in people because that is what she was looking for. She spoke encouragement to others because she focused on them, not herself. I have a loving family, a happy marriage and few health problems, so perhaps I have not learned to look as hard for beauty as Patti did, but I recognize it when I see it--a beautiful soul.
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