Thanks For Sending a Rainbow

It was a bittersweet day for Jack and I. A good friend passed away and his funeral was today. It was nice to see all his family and friends at the funeral and many friends who had moved away came back for his service. I was happy that my boss let me leave so I could attend. Mark was a good friend, a man with a smile as big as his heart. Jack had served with him in many church callings and enjoyed his sense of humor. Conducting his funeral was not an easy task for Jack. Mark was only 58. To some that may seem old but for us who are the same age, it's pretty young to head to the other side. But when illness, pain and suffering are your new companions, it makes the leaving a blessing. The words and stories about his life brought many to tears as well as laughter. It brought to my mind the saying that everyone has a story to tell...their life so full of chapters. How grateful we should be to have a small role in those chapters. His oldest daughter gave a lovely eulogy and his 3yr old twin grandchildren sang his favorite Primary song: "Give Said The Little Stream"...and Mark did give much to all who knew him. He will be missed. I left work later than I normally do because of being on call. It had been a busy and kind of crazy day. We had an emergency C-section right after I got back from the funeral. Actually, the baby was already born when I walked in the OR to take a look at this tiny new member of the human race. He was born at 23wks and probably weighed about 1-1/2lbs..the smallest one I've ever seen born at our hospital. Of course they shipped him to a bigger facility that has a NICU. He was doing remarkably well when he left and I hope he continues to grow and thrive. Sort of both ends of the spectrum today...Death and birth. As I was heading for my car I looked up and saw this rainbow and it made me smile. Perfect ending for a not so perfect day.