I bought these flowers to brighten up the buffet table at the baby shower that I hosted for my cousin this weekend. A grand event indeed! Whenever I buy fresh flowers for the house it somehow reminds me of the dichotomy of life. I love the life they bring to the house--yet they always remind me of death. See--last year my next door neighbor died of breast cancer. I didn't know her well as we had just moved in. But her mother came over to welcome us with a lovely plant and introduced her daughter, who she mentioned had breast cancer. I would often hear the daughter in the backyard chatting on the phone or visiting with friends. One particular day I heard her sobbing--a heart-wrenching cry. I could only imagine the news she got. I wanted to go over and visit--offer a kind word, a prayer. But she had a bit of a rough edge and I wasn't sure how she would receive me.
Fast forward six months later. I started work full-time and thoughts of her got pushed to the back burner. I started seeing her less and she would be on my mind more. One week I thought of her every day. So I bought a card to let her know I was praying for her along with a bouquet of flowers and Christian book on healing. When I went to the door and asked for her, I was told by her teen son that she had passed away two days prior. You can't begin to imagine how my heart dropped. Not visiting her has been one of my biggest regrets in life. Lately I've been thinking of ways to encourage her young son who is now without a mother and living with his grandmother and younger sister. She left behind three kids in all and I just want to scoop them up and love them when I see them. But I don't know how. I've been praying for a small, simple way to let them know I care. God cares.
In thinking of my neighbor. I started thinking about a woman named Virginia Capers. Before I was married I worked for a newspaper where I interviewed celebrities regularly. She was one them. Many people may remember her from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but she before that she had a noteworthy career with many highlights--one of them being winning a Tony Award for her role in the original stage production of the musical "A Raisin In the Sun." I clearly remember the day I went to interview her. She lived in a sprawling ranch-style house in Woodland Hills, CA. Such a big house for an older woman living all by herself. She talked to me for hours. Took me on a tour of her home, the beautiful backyard. We sat in her new Cadillac while she played the soundtrack from her A Raisin In the Sun songs. She clearly was happy to have company. She offered me lunch. I declined. I'd enjoyed every minute of her time. But was dreading the traffic that I had to endure. I'm sure I made a promise to keep in touch. I didn't and when I went to look up her to reacquaint, I learned she had passed away in 2004 after a bout with pneumonia.
All that to say--take the time to reach out to those around you. With a kind word, a phone call, a visit. I'm dedicated now to giving flowers while people are alive and can enjoy them. Won't you join me?
