Rosie McArthur Dies

My sister, Rosie, died the other day.

The timing could have been worse. As it was, we packed several days early and returned from our trip, via Melbourne. Two days drive to Melbourne from Roxby Downs in outback South Australia. But that’s nothing in comparison to the real issues and the brunt of the whole episode, taken by my dad, his wife Annette and my other sisters.

It was regrettable that I was too late to see Rosie before she went unconscious, since she’d been hanging out to see her big brother. But I was there before she died.

Jeanie and Joy were wonderful. Along with their adult families and grandchildren, they arranged much happiness for Rosie in her closing days, including a two year old’s birthday party in the hospital room.

You see, Rosie made the courageous decision, after 20 years of dialysis, to stop her medical treatment. With no kidneys all this time and many other health problems causing much suffering, she said “Enough is enough.”

Rosie wanted her funeral service to be a happy event. She gave many instructions about how her life was to be celebrated. Buried in her wedding dress, Doug to go in his little, old, Morris Minor, it was to be a happy event. In amongst all these instructions, Rosie told Joy that she didn’t want any crying, to which Joy replied “stiff sh!!. You can’t have everything.”

The service was a simple graveside service, conducted by the man who married Rosie and Phillip less than a year ago. A pleasantly warm, spring day at noon. Several people spoke of Rosie’s life and the character that shone out of this intellectually handicapped person. The way she had with crying babies, her cheeky grin, her lack of complaint under suffering, her faith in Jesus.

The Bible declares:

God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ.

Rosie had a simple faith in Jesus. The Bible says nothing about how big or how complex your faith should be. It seems to me to be about how big is he in whom you place your faith.

So Rosie has gone to be with Jesus!