When I die, let me die like Glenn. Full of joy. Full of love. Full of grace. Leaving behind memories and stories of my goodness. With nothing but the love of a spouse, children, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and people groaning and moaning for my presence because I spent my entire life pouring into them.
When I die, let me die like Glenn. Full of music. Full of laughter. Full of art. Full of words I have shared to encourage, uplift, inspire and educate. With nothing but the love of a church community groaning and moaning for my presence because I used my ministry to make the church a beautiful place to worship and a loving place to be in community.
When I die, let me die like Glenn. Full of purpose. Full of meaning. Full of mission. Full of focus on the work God has called me to do. Not distracted, but completely immersed in God’s work to the point that it was the very air I breathed and the joy of my heart. With nothing but a world that feels my absence so deeply that it struggles to fill it, struggles to move on, struggles to forget me because when I was alive, I impacted so many people that the world almost feels like it cannot go on without me.
When I die, let me die like Glenn. Full of all the years I got to raise my kids. Full of the memories of watching them grow up. Full of the memories of escorting them through each milestone. Full of all the years I enjoyed the love of my one and only soul mate. Full of all of the blessings that most people WISH they could have. A life so filled up with goodness and blessings that even in death, I could only thank God for the life he did give me.
When I die, let me die like Glenn. Full of sleep. Full of peace. Full of rest. Full of a heart right with God, so that even though my heart, soul and body may be weary, I laid down and woke up with Jesus. No violent tortuous death. No body racked with pain and sickness. No cancer slowly sucking the life out of me, while my loved ones watched me die a slow painful death. No becoming too weak to play my guitar, preach, laugh or have fun. Let me just live and peacefully die. God please let me die in the midst of a beautiful life, so all of those I loved so much and who loved me will only remember that I used my whole life to show the love of God to every single person, and just went to sleep. So that there is no memory of me dying, but only of me living. Let me be loved so much by you that you wanted me all to yourself, and like Enoch, I am escorted to heaven by you alone.
When I die, let me die like Glenn. Full of God’s favor from birth. Full of God’s blessing since I entered the world. So full of the anointing that when I tried to run from it, God ran after me and I obeyed. Full of the music the angels sang in my heart and my fingers played. Let me leave this earth leaving my imprint everywhere so that my spirit lives on here to inspire others to live as I did, fully focused on doing what God called me to do. So that on that unexpected day, I am ready to meet my Savior and the only memories of me will not be of how I died, but of how I lived a beautiful life.
Dr. Anika T. Prather 