Bittersweet Perspective

So today is December 15, which happens to be my brother’s birthday and it also happens to be the day that our sister passed away. In the years following her passing, her death consumed my mind on this day. I could only think about losing her and how much pain I felt from that and my brother‘s birthday was an afterthought.

Today when I realized it was December 15 my first thought was “oh it’s my brother‘s birthday, let me text him.” I didn’t think about my sister‘s death until later but when I did think about it, it made me reflect and wonder what should my mind be on on this day? I always felt like if I don’t acknowledge Brandy then I’m doing her a disservice, but if I acknowledge Brandy‘s death on my brother‘s birthday then I’m doing him a disservice. It’s a weird day, but now I have a different perspective of it.

Knowing what I know about Christians and if you give your life to Jesus, the day that you pass away from this earth is the best day for your soul, it’s the best day of your life because you are then glorified with Jesus. My sister didn’t live out Christian principles. She turned to the world to cope with her pain, to have her fun, and to find her joy. But she had a great, loving heart. She brought laughter and joy to everybody she met. And if any human being deserved to be in heaven it was her.

My brother told me while she was on her deathbed one of the last conversations he had with her he asked her if she wanted to give her life to Jesus and she said yes. I think the reality of death scared her. In fact, I know it did because five months prior to her passing she told me that on the phone after she found out she was sick. My brother led her to be saved and I’m grateful for that. What’s crazy is before I knew that, she came to me in a dream and told me she was in heaven. I asked her if she was okay and she said “yeah I’m good!” And I woke up with so much peace in my heart.

So now I think about December 15 as a day that my brother was born and also the day that my sister was reborn and the day she was glorified with Jesus. She was relieved of all of her pain and was ultimately the best day of her life. So it’s not a reason to be sad. It’s a reason to celebrate two things and I love looking at it that way.