Tag: God
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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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The Deja Vu Of Disruption

Years ago, after living in Idaho for four and a half years, we were able to move back to Wisconsin; closer to family and enabling us to do holidays with people who knew us well. We had Thanksgiving with John’s family in central Illinois and planned on Christmas with my family in Chicago. We’d packed…
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Independently Dependent

They call themselves BCFF–best cousin friends forever. They don’t get to see each other often, but when they do, they’re connected at the hip. What one doesn’t think of doing, the other does. Together they’re a force of nature. Brooklyn and Sloane, at seven years of age, know what they want. They’re way better at…