A New Morning

by Kathryn Holleque

During my life I have lost people I loved, and so have you.  They had names.  Who among us is not stirred by the agony of missing those who are no longer with us, of yearning for the gentle touch of one who meant so much, of wanting to hear a voice that has been silenced. 

Simplistic responses and easy answers to painful whys are not sufficient for our grief.  Being truly present to each other helps tremendously, but only the faithfulness of a loving God helps me make sense of death, and life. 

While it wasn’t always so for me, I have learned that grace grows best in the wintertime.  Henri Nouwen once wrote, "When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope.”  And Gerhard Frost, “Suffering is not peripheral but central to human existence.  To avoid situations of pain is to condemn oneself to the shallows of life.  Wherever we are called to be, there God is already present.” 

Death is not our only enemy.  To pretend the human condition is not susceptible to anxiety, fear, grief, loneliness, confusion, and doubt is an illusion that keeps us from living freely and fully.  They are as much a part of life as joy.  Facing them honestly and acknowledging their existence among us always holds a promise and an opportunity for deepening growth and change. 

We are not alone.  We have each other if we dare to care, and we have One who loves us more than we can possibly imagine and who illuminates even our darkest night.  The night gave way to a new morning for Casey, Marion, Duane, and Allan, as it surely will someday for us.  God be with you on the journey.