Mors non est finis

Dear friends of Matt and visitors to this blog,

it was a beautiful, sunny and cold Thursday 5 years ago today when Matthew died.

As you read the following poem be comforted and filled with solid hope.

If death my friend and me divide,

thou dost not, Lord, my sorrow chide,
or frown my tears to see;
restrained from passionate excess,
thou bidst me mourn in calm distress
for them that rest in thee.

I feel a strong immortal hope,
which bears my mournful spirit up
beneath its mountain load;
redeemed from death, and grief, and pain,
I soon shall find my friend again
within the arms of God.

Pass a few fleeting moments more
and death the blessing shall restore
which has snatched away;
for me thou wilt the summons send,
and give me back my parted friend
in that eternal day.

Charles Wesley

Picture taken in Tollesbury, November 2010, a month before Matt was diagnosed with leukaemia.

9th October 2016

Today would have been (or, should we say, 'is') Matthew's 25th birthday.

'Would have been' seems appropriate in one way. In this sense. We wonder what 'would have' become of Matthew's life by now had he still been living. And when we think like this we feel sad and heavy hearted.

But 'is' seems appropriate in another way because, although temporarily absent from the body, Matthew is with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) and this lifts our hearts and we can even rejoice that Matt's joy is so great right at this moment.

So today we are celebrating Matt's life, doing some things Matt enjoyed doing on his birthday, like having a hearty cooked breakfast.

We are also upholding some traditions we started on the first birthday after Matt's death, like letting go of a helium balloon and watching it until it's out of sight.

This morning we have received some very precious messages from old friends who knew Matthew and new friends who didn't.

One text came from a family who showed Matt special care and friendship for a couple of weeks in September 2011 before his brain tumour was diagnosed. That practical love and kindness was a huge blessing to Matt and we will always be grateful for that. This reminds us of an important lesson. We never know how much a relatively short life or how simple acts of kindness (Mark 9:41) can significantly impact another for good.