Words for the Journey

 "Michael B.

One of the beautiful things about living this life without is how we have the freedom to help others without. What a sad world it would be if we kept all knowledge to ourselves---all nuggets of wisdom, all beads of hope, all glimpses of truth. The beauty is that in our despair we seek and do find life-giving morsels along the way to share with others.

Here's a poem my 10 year daughter wrote about her uncle(Timmy Reber), who became a homicide victim on Feb 10th 2012.

 This birthday find mewhere the dragonfly meetswith the enchanting moonon spun threads of goldunder willow limbs,where crickets and frogs play.

Not to make you uncomfortable,He's my son, I should be able to talk about him.Not to dwell,He will forever be my son, part of my life, my heart.Not to make you feel guilty,He is a child just like your own, but he's in Heaven.Not to bring you down,It brings me joy to speak of him fondly.Not to get attention,

It is the end of February, which means we arenearing the end of what has often been a brutalwinter. While gazing at the mountains of snowpiled high in my front yard and the foot-longicicles hanging from my roof, it is hard toimagine that spring will ever come. We haveendured bitter cold winds that have chilled us to

I speak to my son almost daily and he answers me.After losing Trey, I eventually envisioned him holding the hand of a small child.Every time I do envision him in Heaven he is the same age as he would be on Earth.I believe when he got to Heaven God told him to take his time and find the soul of his sibling.

Note:  This article was written in 1998. How do we prepare our children for pain when it still surprises us?At the cemetery by his little grave I watched the sunflower pinwheel spin in the warm May wind. "I didn't expect life to be this tough," I whispered to my husband, David.

Of all the statements and spiritual platitudes quoted to me since my son, Daniel’s, death the phrase that I hear most frequent makes me squirm the most. “You have got to get on with your life.” Recently, I quit squirming long enough to ponder the meaning behind this phrase that is usually said to the bereaved in the form of a command. Exactly what does this phrase mean?