December
It is fitting that it is December,
cold and gray.
It doesn't seem a time for sunshine and
laughter
not when one so well-loved has left us.
As in early winter
the cold seems to come with a shocking intensity.
No matter how well prepared we think
ourselves,
we are chilled to the bone
and it seems that spring is a lifetime away.
But though winter is cold and long,
beauty does not wither-
it changes it's form.
Even in deepest winter
we find beauty everywhere.
A full moon shining on snow covered hills;
a
lone, bright red cardinal sitting on a bare tree branch;
A brilliant sunset that ends a crisp
afternoon;
children, red-cheeked and laughing, building a snowman.
Even in winter, life goes on.
While grief is fresh, it is hard to remember
that love is never lost-
It changes it's
form.
Though it takes time,
eventually we begin to remember without tears.
And we realize that he is still here,
a
part of all those he touched.
And as he lives on in his family
his friends and colleagues,
they live on in him.
As he is welcomed by waiting arms and smiles
of loved ones who have gone before,
you can be sure he still carries that love,
just as we carry our memories of him.
12/2002