On another wintery afternoon three years ago today, my
mother, Margaret Urbach, went home peacefully to God. How we miss her.
Yet nothing has more formed my belief in life everlasting
more than the passing of my dad in 2001 and then my mom in 2011.
Theologian
Elizabeth Johnson calls our deceased loved ones “a company of friends” and
“companions in hope.” She writes in Friends
of God and Prophets: “Together, the living form with the dead one community
of memory and hope … summoned to go forth as companions bringing the face of
divine compassion into everyday life.”
As much as I miss having my parents here, I have a profound
sense of their spirit and companionship in the most joyful and the darkest
hours of life. I feel their presence, their support, their encouragement. I
know they are with our family in moments of happiness and worry, of
accomplishment and despair, in strength and in weariness; and I know we will
all be together again.
This morning I found myself focusing on one of my sweetest
Christmas gifts. Sometimes Winnie-the-Pooh says it all: “We’ll be friends
forever won’t we Pooh?” asked Piglet. “Even longer,” Pooh answered. Thank you,
Laura.
May the souls of all our parents and loved ones rest in
peace as they continue to bless us with their friendship.
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