Staring Down the Grim Reaper

“I saw the brightest light I could ever imagine and I had only one thought!”

-Jean Hjelseth

Staring Down the Grim Reaper

Jean walked into her daughter’s apartment.  She was there to visit two of the most important people in her life; her daughter and granddaughter.

“I walked in to the apartment and not long after I arrived I saw the brightest light I could ever imagine and I had only one thought!  I could not die!  I could not leave my husband, daughter and granddaughter!”

Jean had an aneurism in her brain that burst as she was standing right in the middle of her daughter’s living room.  As soon as she saw the light that was as bright as a “super nova” she collapsed in a heap onto the floor.  Her daughter called an ambulance and they rushed her to the hospital where her husband Jeff was working.  She was as close to death as a person can be and still hang on the life by the smallest of margins.

In fact, Jean’s doctor spoke with her more than a month after this incident and shook his head in disbelief as he spoke to her.  “You are a one in a million!” He said.  “There is no way you should still be alive.”

But, Jean knew better.  “I love my husband and family so much that there was just no way I was going to leave them” she said to me as we sat at a table together.

“After just six months into recovery my doctor became frustrated with me because I would not take it easy.  All I wanted to do was to get healthy again so I could be fully engaged with my family.  I would stay up all night reading everything I could on the internet so I could stimulate my brain.  It made Jeff nuts!  He would say to me, ‘What are you doing?  You need to sleep!’”

Jeff was sitting with us as part of our tête-à-tête.  I shot a quick glance at him to see his reaction as she told her story.  His face was beaming with a sort of sheepish, shy smile.  He’s a very quiet, shy person.  Still, there was no way he could hide his love for Jean.  His heart was bursting with gratitude and love as we talked.

I had some thoughts bursting within my own mind during the hour and a half we conversed.   I was trying to think of how many people I knew who have the same kind of determination Jean has.  Would I have the strength and courage to look face to face, eye to eye with the grim reaper and stare him down to defeat because of my love for other people?  Then an answer distilled my questions. 

Here I sat looking at two people in love.  I’d been working with them for a couple of months and I could tell by their everyday actions that they were devoted to each other in a special way.  I knew of their love and commitment well before I knew of the amazing story they had just shared with me.

The reality is that we all show what we’re committed to through our actions on a daily basis.  It takes real courage and dedication to make decisions that demonstrate our best intentions every day.  Sometimes it’s harder to overcome fatigue and repetition over and over again than to dream of conquering an invincible foe in dramatic fashion.  But, living a life based on a foundation of principle, love and truth will always deliver a satisfying and lasting victory while others who only chase fortune through glorious victory more often find themselves alone and wanting.

We can all choose love and life each day by demonstrating our choice through committed action no matter how weak we feel at any given moment.  When we do so, peace will engulf our hearts and assurance will enliven our future.