Blessed are we, who feel the wound of fresh loss.
Or of a loss… no matter how fresh… that still makes our voices crack all these years later.
We who are stuck in the impossibility of it. Frozen in disbelief.
How can this be? It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
Blessed are we, fumbling around for easy answers or quick truths
to try to make this go down easier.
We who are dissatisfied with the shallow theology and trite platitudes.
Blessed are we, who, instead, demand a blessing.
Because we have wrestled with God and are here.
Wounded. Broken. Changed.
Blessed are we,
who keep our relationships and friendships and jobs afloat,
and who stock the pantry…
because… what choice do we have
but to move forward with a life we didn’t choose
with a loss we thought we couldn’t live without?
One small step. One small act of hope at a time.
Adapted for a communal setting from THE LIVES WE ACTUALLY HAVE, page 86
Thank you Kate. I am a hospice spiritual care provider, and often use your blessings at the beginning of our interdisciplinary team meetings after we cover our patients who have died and remember our personal losses as well. Thank you for gracious, forgiving, and humanizing words.
I lost my marathon-running, mile a day swimming fiance to an inexplicable cardiac arrest in O’Hare on Jan. 31st. He was 52 and the most loving and kind man I’ve ever known. He and I repaired so much of what was broken in each of us and I’m utterly devastated. I’m a therapist, once a grief therapist, and know all too well the challenge of coping with sudden loss. Listening to your podcasts has helped and I very much appreciate you and your work.
My uncles recently died at age 95. My cousin (his daughter ) was with him during the hospice process. He had a good life and was a good man. Now, we celebrate his life. I’m so happy to have found your healing and supportive words and podcasts.