Carol Mackie,
known in the blogosphere as Amusing Bunni, is now safe in God’s hands. He saw her getting tired; He put His loving
arms around her and whispered, “Come to Me.”
There’s a lump
in my throat and sorrow is tugging mightily at my heart as I try to fashion a
fitting tribute to such a kind and gentle woman.
The news in
November of 2012 that Bunni had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had
only a few months to live was a gut punch to those who knew her. Living alone, Bunni was more fearful of dying
destitute than anything else.
Her friends
encouraged her to use the power of the Internet to reach out for help. She was amazed at the outpouring of love,
prayers and financial support. She was
so appreciative of the prayers and well-wishes that were sent her way. She was especially thankful for “the
wonderful emails from PayPal saying ‘a donation has been made.’”
Sadly, in mid-March,
Bunni wrote on her blog, “…I haven’t been getting any of those in quite a
while. You know I don't like to ‘beg’,
and never ask you to ‘hit the tip jar’ and all that other stuff. I just have my medical donation button at the
top right of the Blog, and I hope and pray that you can find some extra money
to help me out when you can. Well, I'm asking again now because after
over 4 months without any money coming in at all, things are REALLY tight
around here. Unlike some people, I am not married, so I can't depend on
anyone else's income. If you are married and have a supportive partner,
you are TRULY BLESSED by God and go and give them a kiss & a hug RIGHT
NOW.”
You could
plainly tell that Bunni was scared.
We all have
lives that must be led and, often without meaning to, we forget about others
who are in trouble. I decided to see if
I could reinvigorate the Good Samaritans who had so graciously helped with her
medical fund when she first told us of her grave situation.
Even in her
terribly weakened state, dear Bunni would send an email thank you note
demonstrating her gratitude. They were
never a “form letter” thank you. Each
one was personalized for the donor.
From March 11,
2013 Bunni wrote:
“Thank you for
your generous donation to my Medical fund! What a
nice gift. I thank you SO, SO MUCH for helping me. That
was extremely giving of you. I am trying to be brave, and your lovely gift will
definitely make my plight easier during this time.”
“God Bless you, I am so lucky to have such loyal and giving friends, and people who read my plight and enjoy my blog.
And, when a fellow blogger or reader is in need, they are the FIRST
people to come to their aid. It renews my faith in humanity. My Easter Season will be happier, and I thank
you for your kindness.”
“Have a great
week; you’ve made mine happier than you'll ever know. Again, best
wishes from the bottom of my heart, and you are an angel to think of me and want to help in such a big way. I know your kindness
will be rewarded by God. I hope your Spring Season is wonderful.
Mine is made brighter by nice people like you.”
Huggs, Bunni
and her Kitteh ;-)
Opus
#6 wrote: “[She] never had enough income after that to make ends meet
without your help. Your generosity allowed her to live her days at home,
without losing her home, and to be able to purchase nutritious food and some
small comforts. I pray that God blesses all of you for your kindness.”
The true
beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul and Bunni’s kindness and generosity
was like that which one might find in the soul of a child. Faced with her own mortality she taught us
all how to be brave and true.
It is said
that when the great philosopher Aristotle was asked, “What is a friend?” he replied,
“A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”
Barking Spider
and Bunni developed an online friendship years ago. In one post, “Spidey” as his friends call him
wrote, “I first met Bunni some years ago shortly after I finally gave in and
got myself online. She was one of the very first people I met and we clicked
immediately. I quickly grew very fond of little Bunnikins and eventually came
to love her like the sister I never had—that love has only grown over the
years.”
Bunni loved
Spidey and the feeling was mutual. When
he heard the bad news about her, his plans to travel from London to Chicago to
visit her took on a sense of urgency. He
shared his thoughts about his visit.
It was a touching story from which one could easily glean the love he
felt for her.
“I truly hope
she's with her mother again—that was her dearest wish—it was that one thought
that gave her the strength to carry on these last few months. She certainly
deserves to be with her again after all these years, (she lost her mum when she
was only five years old), and that she's once again, surrounded by love,
warmth, completely free of pain and at total peace.”
“I hope Bunni
and I get to meet again someday—and, of course, when we do meet, I also
hope that her mom actually approves of me as being suitable company for her
darling daughter.”
Bunni’s mother
would surely approve of so giving and loving a man who would travel hundreds of
miles, crossing an ocean to comfort a friend and write such endearing words
about the daughter they both loved. Oh
yes, Spidey, you will make suitable company for your darling Bunni.
The words of
Henry David Thoreau come to mind. “On
the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence
have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to
fulfill the promise of our friend's life also, in our own, to the world.”
A golden heart stopped beating. God closed your weary eyes and whispered “Peace
be thine.”
Bunni, it broke our hearts to lose you,
but you didn’t go alone. A part of us
went with you the day God called you home.
The graphic I created for this post
incorporates the banner from Bunni’s blog, the picture that Spidey chose to
display with his loving tribute to her, a bunny with a tear in its eye and a
golden crucifix to represent the faith she had in God.
Spidey, I hope you find it a suitable
tribute to your friend.
