VAN DER BYL, Kathleen

Kathleen Van der Byl
I was just thinking about you over the past couple of days. I looked up your name and found that both you and John had passed on. I am so sorry to hear that. It is coming around to your 8th Anniversary, Wow! I read that you had died from lung cancer, which must have been a very difficult time for you and your family. I am not sure what John died of, but I do miss both of you.
I used to like my run around the blocks in the morning with John. It would get my system working, ready for the day. I used to love your little parties that we all enjoyed and Louise, who was always a ball of laughter and who had a great head of red hair. Too many times, I had friends who left Mackay and who rarely contacted me since, as they were making a new life for themselves. These days things aren’t the same, since we now have mobile phones and it is easier to contact each other. I am so sorry that I didn’t hear about your pain and so I wasn’t able to help you through it. Here is a poem that I have written, which can be helpful in these situations.

A Message of Love
To help release the fear of moving from this life to the next.

In the twilight hours of our lives,
God’s pure message of love arrives.
His vision for us is unfurled,
As angelic sights in a heavenly world.

When our time has come to say goodbye,
It’s hard to do, but easy to cry.
He says to us that His love will abound,
If we but take it and spread it around.

In our hearts and minds and bodies too,
Let the breath of God become our spirit true.
By surrendering ourselves to the God of skies,
We’ll experience life as one heavenly surprise.

The kind that lingers forever and a day,
To make us glow in every way.

Kathryn Lynette Atkins (now Burke)