Repost from my friendster blog...................

A GREAT MAN LOST

Just recently a very close person to our family passed away. He’s been with us for 17 years and losing him, to me, is like losing a father, a friend and a mentor rolled into one.

I was at the hospital the day it happened. And when the doctor finally announced his demise, i just stood there watching him from outside the ICU through a glass window. Stunned. I couldn’t bring myself to cry because, consciously, I still cannot accept that he is gone….forever…. Slowly, i felt the reality of losing him and tears started falling from my eyes. I wanted to go inside the ICU and hold his hand and whisper these words to his ear "Rest now. Lift up all your worries for your family to God and He will take care of them". But i held myself because i wanted to give that moment to his grieving family.

Right that instance, i asked myself what are the things i did and didn’t do for this man? And, somehow, i can’t help to think how ironic it is that it comes naturally for people to assess these things only after a loved one died.

I regretted many things but the one I regretted most was not being there for him at the time when he was battling cancer and was suffering from the side effects of chemotherapy. Well, he didn’t lost the battle. He won God.

Now, the great man is lost. I didn’t know how painful it is to lose someone you consider part of your family for a long time ’til now. This is the first time i ever grieved deeply for someone. But unlike a lost boyfriend or husband after a break-up, i will not feel sorry for all the tears i cried for he deserve every drop of it. Though i will not see him again, the lessons he imparted to me i will live throughout mine, my children, and my grandchildren’s lifetime.

All that’s left of him are memories of a great man. How can i forget an always smiling face… a very humble person who talks to people from all walks of life despite his status… a man by example who stand steadfast with his principles in life… a pro-life, pro-family, pro-law… to summarize it all A GREAT MAN.

Know, great man, that you are loved unfathomably by my family. And we consider you one of ours.