I wanted this to be a nice post about a nice lady. But after too many drafts it's just a short post about a stranger, who made me feel better about my day.
She stood before us this evening in the Hospice mortuary and explained that she was a volunteer, that she would read a few prayers over my aunt Nora's body and that we would then have some time to say our goodbyes before her coffin was closed. What a thing to do - to give your time to strangers, to guide them with grace through some simple readings, to help them to negotiate their grief.
Her presence gave me faith. Not the hollow ring of her prayers (though she spoke them softly and with conviction) but her human compassion.
She stood before us this evening in the Hospice mortuary and explained that she was a volunteer, that she would read a few prayers over my aunt Nora's body and that we would then have some time to say our goodbyes before her coffin was closed. What a thing to do - to give your time to strangers, to guide them with grace through some simple readings, to help them to negotiate their grief.
Her presence gave me faith. Not the hollow ring of her prayers (though she spoke them softly and with conviction) but her human compassion.
