Every once in a while the reality of life, ….. and in fact death, causes me to stop in my tracks and reassess my life and my place in this world. This past week has been one of those very reflective weeks.
After years of soul-searching I think I now have a better understanding of how this life works and I realise that God has an individual plan for each of us. We are never privy to this information though, we can only hope that the life he has planned for us is going to be a long and very happy one.
Last Thursday afternoon my maternal uncle, one of my mothers younger brothers, passed away suddenly after a very short illness. He lived in Australia so I hadn’t seen him for several years. But that doesn’t make it any easier. In fact it probably makes it all the more sad and difficult due to the fact that, even though long periods of time had passed since I last saw him, I now know that this is one more very loved family member that I am never going to get to see again.
It’s made me once again realise that our time on this earth is finite, and we never know when it will be our turn to say goodbye. It has also made me realise that over the space of hundreds and hundreds of years, all of my ancestors I have lovingly searched for and wanted to find out so much about, they too have suffered loss and grief, often in circumstances that we today will never comprehend or fully understand.
It’s made me all the more determined to keep searching and keep recording what I find about my family members who have gone before me. As I’ve previously stated on this blog, I feel it is my purpose on this earth to be the link between the past and the future. So with renewed vigour, and a bit of a heavy heart, I will continue with my mission to document, preserve and share their stories. All of our ancestors and our much loved family members deserve to be remembered, and if they are remembered they will never truly die.
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| Paul John EGAN Feb 1950 - Oct 2014 |
My Uncle Paul was a free spirit. He loved life and he lived it his way.
He loved his family and his five sons meant the absolute world to him.
Rest in peace Uncle Paul.
You are loved by us all and you will never be forgotten.
Sending lots of love and hugs to all your family in Australia.
x x x x x
x x x x x
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"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die"
~ Thomas Campbell ~
What a beautiful tribute. I found this post through Jill Ball's GAGs.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words :-)
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