Wounded healer

"To choose the little people, the little joys, the little sorrows and to trust that it is there that God will come close-that is the hard way of Jesus...Something in me always wants to turn the way of Jesus into a way that is honorable in the eyes of the world. I always want the little way to become the big way. But Jesus' movement toward the places the world wants to move away from cannot be made into a success story." -from The Road to Daybreak by Henri Nouwen

In the village cemetery, we buried my Aunt Margaret yesterday, in a grave dug next to her third daughter. Despite the grief, the tears, the physical absence of her from us, which makes those she left behind seem a little less than whole, we rejoice. My aunt was a great woman of great faith, the stuff saints are made of. Though she didn't read her Bible like she should, she once related to her pastor, she talked with God constantly throughout her day as she went about her mundane tasks. And when her belief in God's compassionate love was fiercely challenged by the premature and tragic death of her daughter Sheri from a brain tumor at only twenty-two years of age, she held steadfastly to her belief in Christ and His Church. Instead of despairing and allowing the seed of bitterness to take root and fester in her soul, my Aunt Margaret transformed any bitterness that she was tempted to give in to as she turned her loss into something beautiful for God. According to her pastor, Sheri's death solidified my aunt's faith and she began to view her vocation as one of reaching out and comforting those who were mourning. And with her hands and her heart, she gave herself in concrete ways, coming alongside those who were suffering and helping them heal and turn their sorrow into joy. Her tangible acts of love poured out to those around her both encourage me and goad me on to follow her example, Christ's example, of not looking for the big ways, the ways that will be recognized by others, but to serve those around me in ordinary, simple ways. It was a blessing to have her in my life. May her memory be eternal.

"For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day..." - II Timothy 4:6-8