Tag: death
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It Looked Dead

Neither my husband nor I could ever be considered gardeners. We love plants. We’re simply not focused on caring well for plants. Our kids and others have gifted us with growing green things. The growing part doesn’t always apply after a time, but we do try. We were gone for a week, and both of…
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The Glory Of Gathering

It’s easier to celebrate beginnings rather than endings. Births and weddings are grand occasions to gather people to honor the start of something new and remarkable. The onset of a new kind of journey. Death is the end of a journey; no more dreams, no more planning, no decisions to be made, nothing to be…
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Everyone Grieves Something

I’ve been on walks with my sister in the desert, and one sound stands out from others. The melancholy coo of the mourning doves. It’s a sorrowful song, like a melody played in minor keys. They’re the constant reminder of why I’m here. To honor my brother-in-law for a life well-lived and to encourage my…
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The Grace Of Grief

I’d known him longer than I hadn’t. He was my husband’s roommate in college, sharing not only a room but names that were too close for coincidence. You’d never see two more opposite people. John Fred Carlson was a man of integrity, dry humor, and deep compassion. He was quick to laugh and even quicker…
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When You’re Left With Better

photo courtesy of Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash They’ve left. Without a trace. Except for a box of pancake mix and a bowl of baked beans. The fourteen college students who stayed here for Spring break have left for the northern climes of Indiana, where winter still reigns and snow will welcome them home. The surprise…