How providential it is to have written Audacious Subversion and Humble Recognition before the recent death of a good friend. If there was ever an audacious moment to pray, it is most certainly in the maelstrom of death. Death, of all things, points us to the humble recognition of how fragile we are. Therefore, in one of the oldest Psalms in the Psaltry – known as “a Psalm of Moses” we hear the refrain:

Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Today I will attend a memorial service for Harold, one of my oldest friends from University. There is much to be said, and much more to be left unsaid, and I simply grieve the loss of a friend who has left too soon for me.

In the mean time, I thought it good & right to make mention of this very personal event, and to point you to my recent prayer blog, written before Harold died. Now and Then there is some echo of eternity in the time-framed friendships we have.

It seems to me to be a humble comment on the fragility of anything in us to proclaim something glorious from us. “Now and then in ourselves – there exists a new creation” says more about the Creator than about creation. Nevertheless, new creation that we become, we herald something of the Creator based on His gracious interaction with us: something we have seen and heard.

How to Help a Grieving Friend

Further, let me direct you to Megan Devine’s article on How to Help a Grieving Friend. It’s just practical and down to earth. Her last point bears repeating here:

Above all, show your love. Show up. Say something. Do something. Be willing to stand beside the gaping hole that has opened in your friend’s life, without flinching or turning away. Be willing to not have any answers. Listen. Be there. Be present. Be a friend. Be love. Love is the thing that lasts.

 

the Magnetism of More Enigma

Finally, I leave you with an earlier post on The Place of Suffering in the Journey.

Now, in the words of our Lord:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.