A special treat for you today. I have a guest blogger, Gail Engebretson, a dear friend.
Care For My Brother
I have recently gone through a very intense period in my life – helping to care for and be with my younger brother as he passed on to the next part of his journey. There is nothing like this intensity to stimulate thoughts, questions, emotions and insights.
We often hear that being with a person as they pass is beautiful. The first time I experienced the passing of a family member, I was focused on the physical death. It was definitely not pretty. And the visual image of that person at the time of death stayed with me for a long time. I thought how wrong people were about death being beautiful.
I have been part of two other family member’s passing since then and learned to focus on the spirit instead of the physical. I began to better understand the beauty of being with someone as they pass.
This time I completely focused on my brother’s spirit and also opened myself up to all the spirits present – the people physically gathered around him, those present in thought and prayer, and those who had come to escort him into that next world.
The amount of love in his room, especially the hours before his passing and the hours following was palpable, luminous and almost overwhelming. That’s when I fully saw and understood the awesome beauty of his passing.
When I think of my brother now, just one month after his passing, I can barely see how he physically looked at the end. All I can see is his laughter and caring and little boy grin – his spirit.
I then thought, how often do we find ourselves focused only on what is physically in front of us, especially when that physical presence or object is ugly? What are we missing when we forget to connect to spirit?
~ Gail Engebretson
Gail's contact information:
Gail's book, Fat No More, can be found on Amazon.
Website: Fat No More Lifestyle
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gail.engebretson.5
Thank you Gail, for sharing this beautiful story.
Angel Blessings to you.
Sue
Empowerment 4 You LLC
Signs From Your Loved Ones is now available through Kindle version.
What a touching story, and incredibly brave too. How lovely when you think of your brother, you think of his grin and his laughter – I think that’s how people should be remembered. Thanks for sharing, and sending my thoughts your way.
I’ll pass this along to Gail, the friend who wrote it. She will appreciate it. 🙂
Thanks Jan
Blessings to you….and well said. We should connect with the spirit, both our own and our loved ones,for that is the essence we will keep and be with us for eternity. Thanks for sharing!
I will pass the comment on to Gail. I appreciate your thoughts. 🙂
Thanks Michelle. I think that making a habit of connecting with spirit is just like anything else – the more we do it, the easier it gets.
How moving and thanks to your friend for sharing her story. Passing away with your loved ones around you is a blessing when many aren’t so lucky.
Thank you Ginny. I will pass your comments onto Gail. I appreciate it. 🙂
Thanks Ginny. Thank God for the Angels of Hospice. We couldn’t have done this for my brother without them and I know many families feel the same way.
I was with my other half as he passed about 6 months ago and still have in my mind the image of him just before he went.
I’m trying to replace it in my mind by listing occasions when we were happy together, so that I can focus on them instead.
My thanks to the wonderful St Luke’s Hospice in Harrow for that fact that at least we were peaceful together in a room overlooking a lovely garden and John had been cared for so respectfully in his last week on earth.
Thank you for sharing this Joy. It’s beautiful. Remembering the beautiful time you spent together is a wonderful way. 🙂