Some people are pack rats; they keep everything. As for me, I keep virtually nothing – I obsessively purge almost everything that I consider to be clutter. So I was surprised when I found a 5 year old letter in my nearly empty file cabinet.
The letter was from the husband of one of my team members. Here’s a portion of the note:
“To all of Kathy’s friends and co-workers,
I can’t help but tell you when I received your cards, I broke out in many tears. Not tears of sorrow but the depth you all touched my heart for all of you at the Company were a major part of her life. She would always come home and speak so highly of her co-workers, always learning from each other and always with a smile.”
You see, one day at work, Kathy collapsed in the aisle outside her cube. She rarely missed a day of work so this was very scary to all of us who worked with her. What came next was a shock. Over the next few days Kathy was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She died just a few months later.
We have all had a coworker die suddenly. There is the shared pain and disbelief that ripples through. Eventually, we go on.
But we need to make the most of every moment and make sure that the “Kathy’s” in our midst dont leave us without hearing about God’s plan and seeing it lived out in our lives.
Have you had a coworker die or take seriously ill? What would you have done differently?
Read all past issues at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidrupert
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In