This is the last weekend of winter, or at least, it’s supposed to be, the vernal equinox occurring next Friday, but it’s still homemade sup weather in my book. The mornings are not just chilly, but cold, and as I watch the landscapers start to do spring cleaning, I wonder what kinds of long underwear they must be wearing.
The morning sun, when it gets here, will be a help, but not that much. Looking out at the sky beginning to brighten, my thoughts turn to trimming bushes. Gardens are a respite from the news of war, anger, and revenge. Rationally, does ramming a truck into a synagogue make sense because an Israeli air strike killed your family in Lebanon? No, we say, but grief is not rational.
The very nature of grief makes us irrational, for it takes over the fiber of our being. It can turn into anger, despondency, or even action for change as with the Sandy Hook parents or the survivors of the Parkland shootings. We search for answers as to why we have lost someone we loved, but so often there are no answers. So we gather up our griefs and wonder if the pain will ever go away.
Prayer for the Day
Life giving Creator, who flows into our lives as does water from a spring,
We come, seeking guidance, seeking hope, seeking life;
Bring us into the center of your life, the center of your being
So we may more fully understand the meaning of your gift of life to us.
Break open the doors that constrain us and enlarge our vision,
Enabling us to love more fully as we are loved,
In the name of the One who brought us a new meaning of love,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
Anaïs Nin, writer (1903-1977)
Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope.
Cornel West, American social critic
Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,
Who long for death, but it does not come,
And dig for it more than for hidden treasure;
Who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they find the grave?
Job 3: 20-22
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