I Am Thinking of You. Do You Remember Me?

I Am Thinking of You. Do You Remember Me?

Eileen Renders

Throughout our lives, we lose loved ones, they marry and relocate to faraway areas, or they pass on. The other day, I went to the closet, grabbed a cover, and lay down with my dog for a brief nap. It was a chilly day, and I had gotten up very early. As I pulled up the afghan around my shoulders, I happened to catch sight of the tag that had been carefully sewn onto the afghan that said, “from Peggy.”

Peggy had taken the time to make that pink afghan for me, as winters can become pretty cold up North, where we lived.

Peggy and I were close friends for many years until she passed away from cancer. She told me how she thought of me as the sister she never had. She was, in fact, an only child in her family. As I lay there with her gift keeping me warm, it occurred to me how years after she had passed on, her gift was there to remind me of her, and to keep me warm.

This is just one example of how the gift of loving and sharing is a gift that keeps on giving. As I lay there, I wanted to thank her once again for her love and consideration, but of course, that was impossible. At the same moment, I realized what I could do was to say a prayer or two for her, and that is what I did. Immediately, I wondered if Peggy would be able to feel I was thinking of her and said a prayer for her. I wanted Peggy to know that I had not forgotten her, though many years had passed.

One thought led to another, and I pondered the idea of whether or not God allows good, positive thoughts and love to pass through the barrier of earth and reach a friend in heaven.

We may have heard it said at one time or another that our loved ones who pass on before us pray for us. If this is true, perhaps God allows them to know when we, here on earth, reciprocate.

For sure, we are doing, I am sure, the right thing when we continue to remember our friends and family who have passed on before us, and to offer prayers that they are with God and, if any were to spend time in Purgatory, prayer will help to shorten that time. Throughout my life, I have always heard mourners say of their friends or family, “They are in heaven now with God.” These thoughtful words, however, I have always felt were words of comfort to those who were closest to the one who had gone ahead. They are kind words, yet words without real assurance. Therefore, let us always remember those we loved, and who loved us, through our

special prayers.