Becky Blackwell our very good friend here in Idaho Springs, CO just announced to the church today that she has cancer and that it has spread to her brain, lungs, liver and other organs. Her doctor advised her to get her affairs in order.
Well...what to do with this shocking news?
Amy and I have know for a while just how dire Becky's situation was and is. We have already begun our grieving months ago with both of us trying to figure out how to deal with it and how to reconfigure how we relate to her. It's different when someone you know has a terminal illness. Do you talk about it? Or do you ignore the 800 pound gorilla in the room...like I usually do.
I have a long notorious history of avoiding this topic of death especially when it comes to my relatives and friends. I have unintentionally made for myself a reputation for not attending funerals even of close relatives.
I can easily discuss this horrid topic in a casual disinterested abstract way discussing death philosophically in a controlled environment. But...when it comes to the reality of it...where the rubber meets the road I fade away. I make myself scarce.
I first met Becky and her husband Brian when Pastor Josh Nelson drove me up to the First Baptist Church in Idaho Springs on a Wednesday night bible study back in January of 2015. We were there to seek help in locating housing in Idaho Springs for me.
Pastor Nelson and our church, Mercy Church, ordained me sending me out to the mountain towns and villages of Colorado to assist the local churches there. Idaho Springs was to be the first town of many on my itinerary.
After the bible study concluded that evening, Brian Blackwell came up to me and told me about his old abandoned rental house on the corner of 9th and Colorado. Could I use that? He asked. There was no heat or water but it was better than camping out in the forest in January!
Brian then grabbed Becky and asked her. At the time she seemed non- plussed about it. Then she asked where I was from. I told her from a town near Peoria, Illinois. She gasped as she told me she was from Peoria!
After that, Becky, Brian and I were fast friends. I moved into the old Lucas House shortly thereafter and stayed until late 2016. It was a beautiful experience in so many ways.
The Blackwells never charged me rent or for utilities. They got the furnace up and running and the water reconnected. They were always there to help. They made feel so welcomed in church too. As did Pastor Dawit.
Now, Becky needs help, but, I have no help to give her...other than to be there for her along with Brian and all of their many good friends.
Becky is so brave....and she is so willing to let life happen as God has planned for her. Yet, as we all will do at some point in our lives she struggles with God. Job and Jacob struggled with God as well. There is nothing wrong with confronting God, arguing and debating with him. God wants us to "real" with him.
This Wednesday night Amy and I will provide the food for our weekly supper since Becky is no longer physically able to do so.
Wednesday nights will no longer be the same after she's gone. Amy and I will sorely miss her wit, charm and courage.
Poor Brian could barely hold the tears this morning in church. Neither could Amy and I.
It's so true about life. That's it's all about saying hello and goodbye. As we anticipate saying "hello" to Edgar so we begin to say "goodbye" to our dear friend, sister and mentor, Becky Blackwell as she begins her short journey to that mysterious locale Shakespeare called, the undiscovered country.
We love you Becky and always will. We will tell little Edgar all about you as he grows up.
As we begin saying "goodbye" to Becky we gladly anticipate saying "hello" again sometime in the near future where goodbyes will only be a long lost memory.
Amen.
First Baptist Church is holding a baby shower for Edgar two weeks from now on October 29th right after Sunday service. That Sunday we are also moving out of Idaho Springs to Lakewood, CO. It will be a busy day for sure!
BR Schoenbein
Amy Schoenbein
Edgar Schoenbein
October 15, 2017- Sunday
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