Oriel

Last week a dear family friend, Oriel, was killed in a farming accident. Please pray for her family, and the Grenfell community. I thank God that she knew Jesus as Lord.

It took a while to process the news. Bewilderment at first. My thoughts froze and my body shivered as the unfamiliar but all to recognisable chill swept through me. My sister hung up the phone and I sat staring at our bedroom wall. The vivid green of the plant in the corner seemed to flaunt its life. Sadness is such an inadequate word to describe the feeling. If there is a word that captures that moment when an unexpected phone call brings news of unexpected death, I don’t know it and I don’t think I want to. I hadn’t seen her in a year and, shamefully, part of me wondered why this news had hit me so hard.

I remembered.

I remembered a thin lady with a big smile. It was a smile that said ‘forget about me, I’m just happy to see you’. Her laughter was contagious, and generous. She shared her life in the way only country folk can. You always left conversations with her feeling uplifted, encouraged, happy.

She would dress up for church each week and give God her best. She worked hard during the week, giving God her best then too. Her character was such that even a stubborn young man like me longed to have a character like hers.

I remembered my confusion as a teenager. I couldn’t comprehend how someone many years older than me, whom I didn’t talk to that much, could be so interested in me. It was common for Mum to relay to me ‘She asked how you were. She loves to hear what you’re up to.’ It was always something along those lines. I realise now the comfort it brought, knowing that people are thinking of you and praying for you. That when things are good someone is smiling for you and when things are tough someone is crying for you. It is strange to describe but I have felt that missing now.

She invested in my life up close and from afar.

Of course, looking back I was too selfish to understand selflessness when I saw it. I see it now.

She was a lady who never seemed to age. She looked the same last year as she did when I was 10. Perhaps it was her unbeaten spirit. It was certainly the consistency of her character. She was an encourager, a faithful servant to her family, friends, church, and community. She thought not of herself but of others and I am ashamed when I think about how well she knew me, and how little I knew her.

In a small country town, she made a big impact. She did it quietly, earnestly, graciously, and happily.

Because of Covid-19, so few will be there to say goodbye to her. In heaven, so many will be there to welcome her home. Multitudes will greet her joyously. God will know her by name.

She had no idea of the impact she had on my life. I can’t wait to tell her.