Today I learned of the death of a friend's wife. I have never met her in person but have followed her story on Facebook for over a year. If not for Facebook I would never have known of her cancer. If not for Facebook I would never have known of her existence. If not for Facebook I would never have known of her husband's, my high school classmate, career, family, and life after 1975 when we walked across the makeshift stage in Goldsboro gym.
What does it mean now that some share personal stories of courage and faith on Facebook? How does that change the way we communicate about death? Does it change how we experience the death of a loved one? The way we think of our own death?
Her story reached thousands of people through the networks of her family and friends. She and her husband wanted, and did, convey a message of a woman of deep and strong faith, bravely facing the end of her earthly life. I am sad to hear of her death, sad for the emptiness that her husband and children will find in their lives. I know they will "recover" as we all do from these losses. Will having shared the story so publicly change their grief? Make it more or less? Will having heard their story change any of us who followed? Will we find strength or will we feel we can never "measure up" to that standard?
I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I'm not even sure what the questions are...
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