Today is paper recycling day in Plainfield. And last night, like on most Tuesday nights, I look around at the surfeit of paper, a good portion of which I have not read, and wonder what will go into the recycling box. Will I keep the obituary of Jehan Sadat, who did so much for women in Egypt, or of Neham Ghafouri, a doctor who helped to reunite Yazidi women with their children?
Several weeks ago going through my Finnish version of Swedish death cleaning, I did find the New York Times obituary, if you can call it that, of Mao Tse Tung. That one went into the recycling box. What it is about obituaries? They remind us of what we could be if we but follow the man for whom the world tried to write an obituary but whose life resulted in the victory of hope over despair.
Over this past year when we mourned the loss of goodness and caring, the obituary, whether it made the Times or not, reminds us of what we lost in the deaths of others. We can only hold onto their stories so they are not forgotten but live in our hearts and memories.
Prayer for the Day
Draw us near so that we listen to your voice, O God,
And set aside the distractions that pull us away from you;
Center our restless minds and soothe our anxious hearts,
So we respond to your calming voice.
May we become instruments of your peace
Embracing humankind in your name.
In the name of him who shows us how to live,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
There are memories that time does not erase... Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable.
Cassandra Clare, pen name of Judith Lewis, American writer
Most things are forgotten over time. … But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone.
Haruki Murakami, Japanese writer, from Kafka on the Shore
God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble,
Therefore, we will not fear though the earth should change,
Though the mountains should shake in the heart of the sea.
Psalm 46: 1-2
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