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1 year since Mam passed away!

During our October break in Kemnay it was one year since my Mam passed away! We visited her grave and left some roses to park the occassion! It is remarkable how quickly time passes and it certainly does not feel like a whole year since she died. As you can see below the grave stone has been updated to include reference to both of my parents who died more or less 3 years apart.

Memories, memories!

Mizpah


This weekend I was able to visit my Mam and Dad’s graveside. The grave stone had been removed from the scene to have an inscription added about Mam who passed away last October. I wanted to view the gravestone to confirm that the inscription had been done to our requirements. I think that it is quite self explanatory with the exception of the word right at the bottom which is “Mizpah” – this has a special meaning, in fact my Dad had a wedding ring band which had this word inscribed on it.

This is what it means:-

“And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.”

you can read a more detailed explanation here

Feels like the end of an era!

Memories – James Stephen Buchan

Today I am reminded that it is now 3 years to the day since my Dad passed away! Time seems to fly – but these three years have been quite challenging in many ways!

At the time I was working on the SSDN Intranet project – now known as Glow and was spending a lot of time down south in the Glasgow and Edinburgh areas. I recall being at a meeting in Stirling and getting the call that Dads health had deteriorated and that I should come home as soon as possible. This I did of course and he slipped away about 12.30am the following morning. We knew it would not be long but it is always a difficult thing to cope with when the moment of final parting comes.

My dad carried a short poem in his wallet which he often passed to people who were going through difficult times in their lives. He was a Christian and had a very strong faith! I won’t say much more about him but here are the words of the poem.

He Maketh No Mistake

My Father’s way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache,
But in my soul I’m glad I know,
He maketh no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray,
My hopes may fade away,
But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead
For He doth know the way.

Tho’ night be dark and it may seem
That day will never break;
I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him,
He maketh no mistake.

There’s so much now I cannot see,
My eyesight’s far too dim;
But come what may, I’ll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift
And plain it all He’ll make,
Through all the way, tho’ dark to me,
He made not one mistake.

A. M. Overton

It is always difficult for us who are left behind because of our sense of loss, but at we can now take comfort from the fact that my Mam and Dad are now both at rest and together in the presence of God – which is the fulfilment of their shared faith.

Elizabeth May Buchan – 3rd March 1932 – 15th October 2008


After a long illness my mother passed away peacefully early on Wednesday 15th October 2008.

During the last year of her life she was tormented by a number of issues both physical and psychological. Since my dad passed away (three years to the month) she missed him intensely and never really managed to get over his loss. Mam has had a huge impact on my live and I will miss her greatly as the space she occupied is now empty apart from the lasting memories of the good times we shared. In the photo above you can see her as the person she wanted to be, full of life and “the heart and soul of the party”. Sadly at the end she was little more than a shadow of this person.

I know that she has now found a lasting peace and that she is now in the presence of God the Eternal Comforter.