Eduardo

I went to say goodbye to a good friend of mine today, he was only 68 years old and he had been sick with cancer for the past 3 years receiving chemotherapy and radiation.
I have to say that although I am glad that he is no longer suffering it was very devastating to see him in the condition that he was. He seemed to be way under 100 pounds. I left just a couple hours before he went to be with his creator, and at the time he was breathing with difficulty and what sounded like a snore. As I was leaving one of the people from hospice was arriving and she said that he was very close to his death.
It will take the family some time to recover from such a great lose, especially his daughter, as she took care and lived with him. His daughter was at his side day and night. But she has the reassurance that he was not alone at any time, even at the time of his departure, as God was there in the midst of all. His final wishes are to be cremated and that his ashes are poured on top of his parents graves in Spain, so she will take his ashes back to his place of birth and give him his place of eternal rest.
But there is also a different side to this story, and this is what gives us comfort and strength. God is compassionate, loving and omnipotent. My friend always would say that he was disenchanted with God and with everything that was related to Jesus Christ, he even went ahead and stated in his facebook page that he was an agnostic. In fact he was really disenchanted not God but with the Catholic Church, the institution itself, and its various positions. This goes back to his childhood, as my friend had been born after the end of the Spanish civil war, and, like he used to say, could see how the church had taken sides with the Nationalists, even though there were many abuses, including of civil liberties. This reminds me of the Catholic Church’s position during the dirty war in Argentina from ’76 and ’83 of staying quiet even though everybody knew of the all the abuses and disappearances. But that is the subject for another blog.
Going back to my friend, his daughter was telling me that for the last few years he had been praying every night, which goes to show that he had a relationship with his creator and his savior.
God uses every opportunity for the good, and uses every single of us as a tool to enlarge his kingdom.
Eduardo, you will be greatly missed, your “reprimands” as you used to call them, our conversations about the US, Europe, Spain, Argentina, politics, and many other subjects, but knowing that you are with your creator is of great comfort to those of us who loved you, appreciated your friendship, your thoughtfulness, as you always put other people first. It was a privilege for those of us who met you, and for those to whom you called a friend as you always had a caring heart.
The pain is over, the suffering has ended. Now you are in God's safe hands.
Rest your soul in peace.