As some of you know, I post Cleveland's best sports writer Terry Pluto's columns in the Cavs, Browns, and Indians threads. Well this is one about faith and life. It's a powerful lesson about how life is so precious, and yet can be taken away from us so quickly. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, so live and enjoy every minute we have on this beautiful earth.
Pluto
CLEVELAND, Ohio – It snowed on April 21. Real snow. Several inches three weeks after the baseball season opened.
Who expected real snow on April 21, even in Northeast Ohio?
“You can’t control the weather.”
We all know that. Most of us are smart enough not to try to control the weather. But how about other things in life?
FEELING OVERWHELMED
I asked readers for their stories. Here are some starting with one from Donna. All names have been changed.
“I sit here with my young grandchild. I’ve been raising her for three years now. ... As I try to deal with my daughter, her mother, who may have long-lasting brain damage from years of drug abuse. ... As I try to deal with my mother, also an alcoholic and drug user ... I sit here in the midst of the storm ... I need to hear that God is there.”
This line from her letter is so powerful: “I sit here in the midst of a storm...”
That’s how life is for many of us right now.
It’s never just one problem. It’s several. Family issues are like someone throwing a cement block into a peaceful pond. It’s not just one big splash and a ripple, it’s one wave after another.
Even on a snowy spring day, there is a river that can nourish our souls.
FEELING LOSS
This came from Owen:
“My best friend age 63 lost his Mom to COVID on 12/19. I called him to offer condolences, and found out that he had tested positive. Three days later he went into ICU. The day after Christmas he passed. I am still numb that someone I went to college with, my best friend of 45 years is gone. Never take anyone or anything for granted, life is truly short.”
I’ve lost five friends in the last 18 months, most to cancer. The last two were sportscasters Les Levine and Joe Tait. Like Owen, I’m numb. I started to tell a friend that her student needed to talk to Tait about a radio career. Joe loved to talk to students. But then I realized Joe was gone.
FEELING SURPRISED AT BEING SURPRISED
This came from Judy:
“My 88-year-old Mom had been in a nursing home for four years. She didn’t know where she was, and didn’t want anyone touching her. She was a shell of her former self. During COVID-19, we had seen her very little...We got the call in November that she had tested positive for COVID-19. But she did well. I called Mom the Ever-ready Bunny.
“No matter what her poor body went through she kept on ticking. Double-knee replacement, broke both hips, gall bladder surgery, a couple of stents. Her poor mind was gone, but her body remained strong.
“I prayed God would take her peacefully and rescue her from this mindless confusion. We got the call on New Year’s Day. Mom had passed overnight. We went to the nursing home right away to see her before the funeral home came. She had the most peaceful expression on her face. Just like I had asked God to do.
“And yet - I have a hard time adjusting to the fact she’s gone. How could I be so surprised? As much as I wanted her to find peace, I was still caught off guard. No matter how hard I had prayed for it - I didn’t truly expect her to go.”
Just like Judy, I have experienced the same emotions when I lost people close to me – even when they had been ill for years. It’s so strange...
Life throws snow, dead trees and wild weather at us.
FEELING ALONE
Jack wrote:
“My wife was having severe pain with a bad gall bladder. She was operated on the next day. After surgery. I saw her and she was her old self. They said she could go home the next day.
“That night, I got a call to get to the hospital because she was bleeding out. The doctors gave her no chance. She had two more surgeries and was still alive. But in the process she had three strokes, all organs shut down and heart damage. She was in ICU for about 12 days.
“She was on dialysis for three months and they got her kidneys to function again . She was in two hospitals and a nursing home until Jan., 14, 2021. I was so happy she was coming home. Three days later, she had a heart attack and passed away at home. I’m still devastated about the last six months of her life.
“She was 68. We were married 46 years, and I knew her for 53. She was my high school sweetheart and will be forever.”
One of the themes of this story is as Owen wrote, “never take anyone or anything for granted.”
In 2014, a close friend lost his wife of 50 years. My wife and I were visiting him. He had been a caretaker for the last few years of her life. He looked at us, telling Roberta and yours truly, “It goes by fast, love each other more than ever.”
Roberta and I have been married 43 years, known each other for 46. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I spotted her in German class during my one year at Hiram College. She has always insisted God brought us together. I’m not about debate that point.
During Wednesday's surprise snow, the sun came out for a little bit.
FEELING THE HOPE
This came from Thomas on Wednesday:
“Last week our mom became very ill and passed away. It was very sudden and made my family appreciate life even more. What’s really interesting are the signs of resurrection. In the hospital, she would say ‘Oh my God’ over and over...it like was she saw heaven.
“This past week our garden finally had one red tulip bloom, and red was her favorite color. I just wanted to say we appreciate each other and life more now. But we also feel like our mother is showing us to always believe and never lose faith.”
As we age, some of us sense earth is not our final home. We may dream of those we loved who have died before us. A few times, I’ve had a dream of my father ... not in a wheelchair in his stroke-ravaged body, but in the prime of life. He just appears. It’s brief. But I know I saw him in those dreams.
Revelation 21:4 reads: “He (God) will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order of things has passed away.”
When I read emails like these, I think about that. Perhaps you should consider doing the same.
Pluto
CLEVELAND, Ohio – It snowed on April 21. Real snow. Several inches three weeks after the baseball season opened.
Who expected real snow on April 21, even in Northeast Ohio?
“You can’t control the weather.”
We all know that. Most of us are smart enough not to try to control the weather. But how about other things in life?
FEELING OVERWHELMED
I asked readers for their stories. Here are some starting with one from Donna. All names have been changed.
“I sit here with my young grandchild. I’ve been raising her for three years now. ... As I try to deal with my daughter, her mother, who may have long-lasting brain damage from years of drug abuse. ... As I try to deal with my mother, also an alcoholic and drug user ... I sit here in the midst of the storm ... I need to hear that God is there.”
This line from her letter is so powerful: “I sit here in the midst of a storm...”
That’s how life is for many of us right now.
It’s never just one problem. It’s several. Family issues are like someone throwing a cement block into a peaceful pond. It’s not just one big splash and a ripple, it’s one wave after another.
Even on a snowy spring day, there is a river that can nourish our souls.
FEELING LOSS
This came from Owen:
“My best friend age 63 lost his Mom to COVID on 12/19. I called him to offer condolences, and found out that he had tested positive. Three days later he went into ICU. The day after Christmas he passed. I am still numb that someone I went to college with, my best friend of 45 years is gone. Never take anyone or anything for granted, life is truly short.”
I’ve lost five friends in the last 18 months, most to cancer. The last two were sportscasters Les Levine and Joe Tait. Like Owen, I’m numb. I started to tell a friend that her student needed to talk to Tait about a radio career. Joe loved to talk to students. But then I realized Joe was gone.
FEELING SURPRISED AT BEING SURPRISED
This came from Judy:
“My 88-year-old Mom had been in a nursing home for four years. She didn’t know where she was, and didn’t want anyone touching her. She was a shell of her former self. During COVID-19, we had seen her very little...We got the call in November that she had tested positive for COVID-19. But she did well. I called Mom the Ever-ready Bunny.
“No matter what her poor body went through she kept on ticking. Double-knee replacement, broke both hips, gall bladder surgery, a couple of stents. Her poor mind was gone, but her body remained strong.
“I prayed God would take her peacefully and rescue her from this mindless confusion. We got the call on New Year’s Day. Mom had passed overnight. We went to the nursing home right away to see her before the funeral home came. She had the most peaceful expression on her face. Just like I had asked God to do.
“And yet - I have a hard time adjusting to the fact she’s gone. How could I be so surprised? As much as I wanted her to find peace, I was still caught off guard. No matter how hard I had prayed for it - I didn’t truly expect her to go.”
Just like Judy, I have experienced the same emotions when I lost people close to me – even when they had been ill for years. It’s so strange...
Life throws snow, dead trees and wild weather at us.
FEELING ALONE
Jack wrote:
“My wife was having severe pain with a bad gall bladder. She was operated on the next day. After surgery. I saw her and she was her old self. They said she could go home the next day.
“That night, I got a call to get to the hospital because she was bleeding out. The doctors gave her no chance. She had two more surgeries and was still alive. But in the process she had three strokes, all organs shut down and heart damage. She was in ICU for about 12 days.
“She was on dialysis for three months and they got her kidneys to function again . She was in two hospitals and a nursing home until Jan., 14, 2021. I was so happy she was coming home. Three days later, she had a heart attack and passed away at home. I’m still devastated about the last six months of her life.
“She was 68. We were married 46 years, and I knew her for 53. She was my high school sweetheart and will be forever.”
One of the themes of this story is as Owen wrote, “never take anyone or anything for granted.”
In 2014, a close friend lost his wife of 50 years. My wife and I were visiting him. He had been a caretaker for the last few years of her life. He looked at us, telling Roberta and yours truly, “It goes by fast, love each other more than ever.”
Roberta and I have been married 43 years, known each other for 46. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I spotted her in German class during my one year at Hiram College. She has always insisted God brought us together. I’m not about debate that point.
During Wednesday's surprise snow, the sun came out for a little bit.
FEELING THE HOPE
This came from Thomas on Wednesday:
“Last week our mom became very ill and passed away. It was very sudden and made my family appreciate life even more. What’s really interesting are the signs of resurrection. In the hospital, she would say ‘Oh my God’ over and over...it like was she saw heaven.
“This past week our garden finally had one red tulip bloom, and red was her favorite color. I just wanted to say we appreciate each other and life more now. But we also feel like our mother is showing us to always believe and never lose faith.”
As we age, some of us sense earth is not our final home. We may dream of those we loved who have died before us. A few times, I’ve had a dream of my father ... not in a wheelchair in his stroke-ravaged body, but in the prime of life. He just appears. It’s brief. But I know I saw him in those dreams.
Revelation 21:4 reads: “He (God) will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order of things has passed away.”
When I read emails like these, I think about that. Perhaps you should consider doing the same.
