the runner's wife

They had such a deep love for each other. The kind you read about in books. We only met Natalie once, many years ago, but loved the wife our "best man" had chosen. She blossomed him, if you could use the word in that way about a man. They lived across the country and the Gardener visited his old college roommate only once in these years of passing time. But we got to know Natalie through Russ's letters, which he wrote several times a year. He wrote the kind of letters we would sit down and read with a cup of tea, full of wisdom, wit, talk about his students, his running, his family, and most of all, his beloved Natalie. And so  I grew attached to Natalie through his letters and I learned she was a strong, but quiet woman. A teacher well loved, mother to three and most recently a new grandmother.

When Russ wrote a few weeks ago to say his beloved had cancer and chemo was not an option, our hearts sank down low. We read between the lines and prayed. I loved what he wrote, "I'm about as close to God as I've ever been [and] I'm able to be the man the love of my life needs as she deals with the loss of so much of her life and quite possibly her life itself."

So the news came this week that Natalie had rallied and there was hope ... but then suddenly worsened and quickly slipped away, surrounded by Russ, the children, friends, and beloved sweet little granddaughter. I'm sure Russ is taking a run on the beach this week, pondering his loss but not asking why, for he told us he would not. Rather his question was "How can I love the people around me through this ... and live like Christ in this ..." and indeed he will, with great Hope ... and total confidence that his beloved is in the presence of God.

Thinking of our friends makes me want to avoid petty things and live each day fully, and with gratitude.