Another Funeral

My cousin died this week.  She was 60.  She had cancer, breast cancer, 15 yrs.ago, then remission, then it came back and killed her.  She was much loved by her family, students, friends, and fellow church members, and her funeral was standing room only.  She was a devout Christian, an evangelical Christian.  She got up every morning at 4:30 to have her, "time with the Lord."  I was mystified by her brand of religion.  She stopped going to Mardi Gras parades. Her children didn't believe in the Easter Bunny.  She invited me to come to her church.  I did not go or want to go.  I felt superior to her because she was a fundamentalist.  Years later we came to an understanding concerning our spiritual lives.  I visited her new church.  We remained close, especially in the last year or so.  What struck me at her funeral was the remark I heard over and over.  "She never said anything bad about anybody."  And she didn't.  She called people who were lonely, slept on the floor of the hospital waiting room when her childhood friend was dying, called her mother every day, taught history to fifth graders, raised two wonderful daughters, and remained a vibrant and entertaining person who was fun to be around.  She enjoyed her life immensely. She was a happy person.  Now I think that what I saw in her life was a product of her ,"time with the Lord."  At some point she told me that God had showed her that she didn't know anything.  I took this to mean that she had opened up to the idea that there are many ways to follow the example of Christ.  I'm thinking now that her life was lived with her God , and that I have been fortunate to have been the recipient of her love and care.  Her emails in these last months have been so full of hope and praise.  She was exhausted by chemotherapy and its side effects.  Her test results were disappointing.  Still she thanked God for her family and friends.  Looking back, I realize how remarkable she was.  She was a person who fully became the woman God had intended her to be.  She lived her life with joy. I will miss her loving kindness and uninhibited personality.