"She's the one who taught me about hard work," he said. "She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me."Obama announced Dunham's passing to a rally by saying, "She's gone home." Losing a loved one is very difficult and even more so when they have had such an impact in one's life. Obama's comments tell us two things about the way the world actually is.
First, this life is about relationships. We can impact another's life for good or for ill. Dunham and her husband made a choice to be there for a young Obama when his parents, for whatever reason, were not.
Second, there is a comfort to knowing that our loved ones have "gone home". There remains a longing for them; an emptiness in their absence. But a peace also exists in knowing that, having turned our face toward our Creator, our loved ones live on where there is no more pain, no more suffering. There is only life.
I pray that in this difficult time for the Obama family that their memories of this beloved woman bring them comfort.
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