Dad

My dad died Wednesday after years of fighting ALS. If you've ever been close to someone with ALS - you know the slow devastation of this particular disease. It's just awful.
Some of you know that I just happen to be at this particular spot in life where several of those close to me have died. Mom, A.J., Karen and now Dad.
I've often described the last four years, at certain points, to feel like when you're just falling asleep. It's been surreal at times.
But underneath the buzz I must admit there's a certain warmth. Maybe it's just feeling what all those that have gone before us have felt as their loved ones disappeared. Maybe the warmth is feeling a sense of community with all those that mourn.
It's probably all that. And then, I think it's something more. As I've gotten older and walked through all this, I've found myself praying "thy kingdom come..." and really meaning it.
I really do long now for the Kingdom of God to come in it's fullness - no more sorrow and no more death. Resurrected bodies that won't get sick and won't wear out and won't die.
In fact, looking at it from this vantage point - I think a new description is in order. Rather than it feeling like when you're just falling asleep - perhaps the best way to describe it is to say that it feels like when you're just waking up.
Yeah, that's it. You know how that feels, when you're in that ambiguous place of slumber where you're experiencing weird dreams and uneasy uncertainy. Everything feels sluggish and encumbered.
But then, the first rays of sunlight poke into your consciousness, and you slowly become aware of the day. And then - before you know it - you're awake. You're awake to the gift of a brand new day - all its possibilities and all its opportunities.
Yep, that's a better way to say it. We're waking up.

5 comments:

jb said...

Incredibly written Mike. I'm sorry to hear about your father.

Mike Aleckson said...

Thanks for the kind words, Jim!

M1 said...

I'm the one who took the photo in your post. You words have given that photo new meaning. -Mike Fisk (from http://soul-amp.blogspot.com )

Mike Aleckson said...

That's a beautiful photograph, Mike. When I saw it, I knew it captured what I was feeling.

Friends, the foreground lighting in Mike's photo is rather a challenge to achieve.

So Mike, on a technical note, did you use a neutral density filter, or fill flash, or multiple exposures, or what - to get that beautiful foreground illumination?

Thanks again for a beautiful shot, and for any additional enlightenment you can give!

Corey Barnett said...

Hi greeat reading your post