The Snowflake Chronicles

Summary Saturday February 25, 2006

The Most Important Thing That Happened This Week

What's the most important thing that's happened this week? The most important thing that happened this week was a telephone call I received last night before I went to bed. A friend called to tell me that a mutual friend died and her funeral would be today at 10:00 a.m. The death was a shock, I knew that my friend was not in good health, but I did not know that death was eminent. However, as I think about it whenever I hear about someone’s death it is always a shock, even if I know the person is in the hospital.

Several things come to mind as a think about death. First, a quote from The Hidden Words in which Baha’u’llah says: “O SON OF THE SUPREME! I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom?” (Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #32). When ever I hear about a death, this is one of the quotes from The Hidden Words that comes to mind. The other quote that comes to mind is “O SON OF BEING! Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds.” (Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, #31).

The next thing that comes to mind is the last time I saw my friend. I believe it was either at a Naw-Ruz or an Ayyam-i-Ha party. Since she was wearing a beautiful evening gown, it was probably at a Naw-Ruz party. We talked, laughed and reminisced about all the adventures she had during her life. My friend was an artiest, who painted portraits and for several years she worked as a photographer in one of the hotel casinos in Las Vegas. She traveled through out the United States and the world. She was a Baha’i who served on one of the Local Spiritual Assemblies several years and shared her faith with everyone she spoke encountered. She lived a full life, she was a joy to everyone she encountered.

(19 Mulk 162 B.E.)