September 22, 2020
Weekly Reflection – A Reflection on Grief
I am taking time out for a reflection on grief. At my age, one begins to notice old friends passing away almost daily. And if they haven’t yet left the physical world, they are certainly dealing with age-related health issues. Like Mac and Marty, who are spending this holiday at a physical rehabilitation center in Tennessee. Like my cousins in Texas who lost their “mum” this past week. Like so many who are sharing in the loss of Bettye, who died a couple of days ago. Like the elderly who reside in assisted living facilities and share the pandemic with one another but cannot visit in person with family. Like those dealing with mental health issues, so alone while not alone. Like those passing the days in prison.
There are so many levels of grief here. One of my Facebook friends, Ana Lisa de Jong, just posted a poem titled “Clothed.” Yes, warm memories, but memories accompanied by frequent bursts of chill that infiltrate us in the most unexpected places.
I am thankful for the One who walks with us in our grief, in our aloneness, in our wanderings when those familiar ones are no longer on this earth with us. May we be blessed this week by their memory and by the very presence of a God who remains so very close, even when the chill breeze finds its way into the core of our being. Yes, may everyone we brush shoulders with be affected by God’s presence in our lives.
Blessings and peace,
Chaplain Allen
chaplain@nationsu.edu
chaplainscorner.org
CLOTHED
Grief wears such warm clothes.
The warmth of love remembered.
The warmth of memories.
It’s just, it’s cold where the clothes let in the wind.
Under the cuffs. Inside the collar.
Beneath the shirt hem.
It’s like the grave freshly covered,
the blossom on the overhanging shrub.
Everything’s so beautiful under the sky blue,
the daffodils in a glass jar,
the exquisite tender feeling.
But then you remember
in a sudden chill of wind,
that you’re bereft of that person now
six feet under.
They can’t share this.
You can’t share them.
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