Welcome Home, Thy Good and Faithful Servant

I told you in my last post that I would be presenting another book for your reading enjoyment, but, due to unforeseen circumstances, that will have to wait.

Last Thursday, the 19th, Stewart and I got in the car and made our way to Crescent City, Florida for a few days of getting away and visiting my long-time girlfriend. I drove and he handled the new collection of country classic CDs we'd ordered. 

The eight-hour trip turned into nine and a half hours after encountering a traffic jam in South Carolina that took an hour and a half to clear. No matter, we sang to the music and enjoyed the trip. We took our little dog, Winston, with us and he sat in the back seat enjoying the view from the window. 

At 7:30 pm we arrived at my friend's house; she came out to meet us and I introduced her to Stewart. We then got the rollator out of the car so he could get in the house and sit down. At that point, he immediately passed from this life to the next. Paramedics were called and they worked on him at the house, in the ambulance and in the hospital, for forty minutes to no avail.

When my friend and I arrived at the hospital, we were put into a room and told, "Wait here, the doctor will be in to talk with you."  I knew what that meant and began to steel myself for the news. There's no easy way to tell someone their loved one has died. 

While the ambulance was still at the house, I called Cyndi and Bill to tell them what was happening and they immediately got in the car to start the drive south. I met up with them the next afternoon, Friday, at the funeral home.

Monday, Cyndi drove me home and Bill stayed in Florida to be able to bring his dad's ashes home when ready. 

Do not grieve for Stewart. He no longer has to struggle for every breath. He's no longer tethered to an oxygen hose. He no longer needs a walker or wheelchair to get around. He was 86 years old and had a sparkle in his eyes that reflected his amazing zest for life. 

We knew when we got married that we wouldn't have a long marriage and we didn't, but we packed a lot of living into the two years we had. We both felt that the two years we had together (plus two years before we married)  were better than all our other years lived prior to meeting each other.  

God is good. He gave us those few wonderful years together and He got us right to my girlfriend's house before taking Stewart so it didn't happen somewhere on the road where I would have been all alone in the middle of nowhere. I praise Him for that. 

Stewart was an aide to the Admiral for seven years in the Navy; he was a master electrician in construction up until he retired in 2000; and he raised six children of his own and four more children of his second wife. And he loved my three children as though they were his own. 

He came from an intact loving family that went to church and said grace at meals and instilled in him a strong set of values that he carried to his last breath. The world has lost a powerful, wonderful man, but Heaven is all the better for his arrival.  He is now reunited with his parents, sister, and four of his six children. He will never again have to bury another child. 

I very much look forward to reuniting with him one sweet day and feeling the warmth of his strong arms around me forever.

Quote of the Day: Death is nothing else but going home to God. Mother Teresa