A Case of Sudden Death

When someone you know and care about is faced with the sudden death of a loved one, or even the expected death of a loved one, you wonder what you can do to help.

Late Monday night I got a phone call from my sister, Donna. A shocking, unexpected, heart-breaking phone call. Her husband, 61 years old, had just died unexpectedly, with no warning.

My sister posted this on her Facebook page the next morning:

Thank you everybody for your prayers. I am still in shock and numb. He was fine. They gave him a clean bill of health. He walked in the bathroom and just dropped dead. Whew, it was his time. He was finished here on earth. He is so much better off now. Good night my darling hubby….I will see you again. I love you.

My sister is only one and a half years older than me, and we’ve always been close,  yet I wasn’t even sure what to do to help her! She said I didn’t need to come, but when I asked again a little bit later, she said she’d like for me to come and be with her. So Tuesday morning I threw some things together, and drove to Cleveland to be there for her.

On the trip over, I found myself singing the Scripture song that says “I am the resurrection and the life….” How comforting to think that this weekend we will be celebrating the resurrection of Christ, and because of that, we don’t grieve as though who have no hope. We know he is in heaven with His living Savior, and we rejoice in that truth!

I had an inside view of what goes on right after someone loses their loved one, and has so much to think about, and deal with. While walking through some of it with my sister, I learned  by watching what she was going through and what was going on, then made mental notes about things. In my next post, I will share my observations of what someone does and doesn’t need in this type of situation, and HOW YOU CAN BEST HELP someone in their time of loss and grief.

In the meantime though, remember that praying for those in need, and those who are hurting, is ALWAYS the right thing to do!!