Death is something that happens to other people, rarely to those closest to us. Its something we sympathise with but can rarely empathise with due to the fact that it is very difficult to place yourself in the shoes of the person who is experiencing the loss. It is nearly impossible to imagine that type of loss ... until on a Wednesday morning its you who receives the phone call, its you who has experienced the loss.
Words fail me to explain the overwhelming flood of emotions that have overcome me in this last week and to a certain extent I don't even feel that I have the right to have felt them because I only knew Jo for three weeks. But in those moments I realise just how large an impact he made on my life in such a short time, a true testament of the type of person that he was.
I can't say that I have ever come across someone that has cared as deeply and truly as what Jo did. His heart was a pure one that could only been created with divine intervention, there is no other explanation. He had a way of making you feel loved and important, and listening to the eulogies at his celebration service I realised that I was by far not the only person that experienced this. His presence was one that could not be ignored, that demanded, with grace, to be acknowledged.
In all that I experienced emotionally this week what was most overwhelming was the peace and the feeling of being privileged to have met him. The peace was rooted in knowing that he lived the life that was laid out for him and responded to his true calling with complete obedience, not for a moment have I doubted about where he is now. And the feeling of being privileged to have met him in the fact that I could so easily not have had the opportunity to meet him or get to know him, and yet I did and the impact of that was much greater than I ever realised.
Yet in this immense loss there was so much gained. The appreciation for life and a new passion for our Father ignited. We cling to the memories and reminisce with tears in between, we realise how short and temporary life really is. Prayer is capable of moving more than oceans and time heals. We know how important it is to play thirty seconds, take photos and laugh.
Life was altered by this loss, it will never be the same. But now every time I hear Franja on the radio or experience a Tolwe sunset I will remember him, in his fullest glory by far too good for this world.
Jo, you were sunshine in a bottle and Jesus opened the lid to set you free. It was a privilege to see you shine.
Words fail me to explain the overwhelming flood of emotions that have overcome me in this last week and to a certain extent I don't even feel that I have the right to have felt them because I only knew Jo for three weeks. But in those moments I realise just how large an impact he made on my life in such a short time, a true testament of the type of person that he was.
I can't say that I have ever come across someone that has cared as deeply and truly as what Jo did. His heart was a pure one that could only been created with divine intervention, there is no other explanation. He had a way of making you feel loved and important, and listening to the eulogies at his celebration service I realised that I was by far not the only person that experienced this. His presence was one that could not be ignored, that demanded, with grace, to be acknowledged.
In all that I experienced emotionally this week what was most overwhelming was the peace and the feeling of being privileged to have met him. The peace was rooted in knowing that he lived the life that was laid out for him and responded to his true calling with complete obedience, not for a moment have I doubted about where he is now. And the feeling of being privileged to have met him in the fact that I could so easily not have had the opportunity to meet him or get to know him, and yet I did and the impact of that was much greater than I ever realised.
Yet in this immense loss there was so much gained. The appreciation for life and a new passion for our Father ignited. We cling to the memories and reminisce with tears in between, we realise how short and temporary life really is. Prayer is capable of moving more than oceans and time heals. We know how important it is to play thirty seconds, take photos and laugh.
Life was altered by this loss, it will never be the same. But now every time I hear Franja on the radio or experience a Tolwe sunset I will remember him, in his fullest glory by far too good for this world.
Jo, you were sunshine in a bottle and Jesus opened the lid to set you free. It was a privilege to see you shine.
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