I need to begin this blog by telling you that the dear friend that I wrote of last Friday died on Saturday evening. We knew this was the inevitable outcome of her disease but it came sooner than I expected. When the dreaded phone call came Saturday night I was overcome with grief and the cloud has stayed with me this week. My belief is that God holds her in that mystery we call eternal life and for that I am grateful but my reality is that she is gone from me and for that I am sad. My mind has been filled with memories.
She died the best possible death. She was at home, family and friends visited through the day, her favourite music was playing and her husband and daughters were with her. Who could ask for a better passing than that?
Today is St. Patrick’s day. We had our Irish Dinner on Sunday night and I offered a few toasts. Many of them were silly and fun like “May your glass be ever full, the roof over your head be ever strong and may you be in heaven a half-an-hour before the devil knows your dead!” or “May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door.” But for you today I offer the more familiar and the one we call ‘The Irish Blessing’
“May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm on your face and
The rain fall soft on your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”
May you feel a blessing today and always remember that life is short and tenuous so treasure each moment you are given.
