I’ve been preparing for a funeral. When I came to town a year and a half ago she was already in our manor. She remained sharp of mind for a good portion of the time. Only recently had she had a stroke. Alice passed away on Tuesday.
As I started talking to relatives and friends history began to unfold. Not all roses, for there were thorns. Alice had been given up early in life. Her home setting was not always the best. She married an alcoholic. The effects of cancer, diabetes and othere illnesses made her life difficult. A hip replacement later in life was another complication.
Was she an optimist? You wouldn’t think so. But this one characteristic came through in stories told to me by others. Perhaps some of her optimism was naive. Perhaps some was a defense mechanism.
I wonder, though, if a belief in Jesus as her Lord and Saviour tempered the bad. And now she has a new perspective — eternal and definitely optimistic!