Death Always Hurts

Is it just me or do you also feel a sharp pain when you hear of a celebrity or political figure dieing? When Jett Travolta died I wanted to cry for the pain his parents were enduring.

If I can hardly control the tears over the death of someone I've never met imagine how I deal with death on different levels.

Last night we received one of those calls. Michael's biological father passed away yesterday at 4 in the afternoon. Barton (Bart) lived in Florida with his wife of a couple of years, Lynn.

I was blessed to have met Bart when Michael and I had a layover on the way to our honeymoon. This was the only time I ever saw Bart.

Like all of us, Bart made many bad choices in life. He was not a part of Michael's life after about 3 or 4. However, he was still Michael's father.

My only wish was that he would have gotten to meet his grandchildren. I did send him pictures that he proudly showed off to his friends, as any grandpa would do. He expressed a desire to come see them and I hear he even made a small effort to come to Texas last summer. Knowing that means something.

Bart died of congestive heart failure. He was 56. Lifestyle choices led to cirrhosis of the liver and diabetes. His liver shutting down ultimately led to the heart failure.

I am so grateful for the few pictures I have of Bart. Those pictures show us just how much our precious Paisley looks like her Grandpa Bart. What a neat blessing.

I wish so much that I could say that Bart was a Christian. I will never know but I did pray for a peace to envelope the Christian loved ones of his that may be struggling with that unknown right now. That's a great reminder to take advantage of every fleeting moment you have with someone to share with them the love of Christ.

With death sometimes the sting is brief, sometimes it lingers for years. But it always hurts.