30 Days of Gratitude Challenge: Day 2
Thank God for the gift of life of a loved one who has passed away. Pray an Our Father that his or her soul is united with God in heaven.
For 20ish minutes I nursed Ruthie and prayed Our Fathers out loud for every loved one, loved one’s loved one, friend, and acquaintance I could think of. I am fortunate to be young and lead a very blessed life where most of my deceased loved ones are the “common” ones – grandparents, great uncles and aunts. But during this time I said 3 Our Fathers for young people who the world has lost to suicide – Nate, Tom, Darrion.
In a related God-infused weirdness to my day… Ruthie had knocked over a stack of my old hockey/baseball/football cards (which I have in the dining room as I figure out if I am keeping them or giving them away) and I was busy and so just left them on the floor but shuffled them off to the side. I walked thru the dining room a bit later and saw a newspaper clipping more in the middle of the floor. I noted it but didn’t pick it up. I figured it was just some random sport clipping I had kept.
At night I finally took a moment to pick it up. It was face down. I flipped it over. It was the obituary for my high school friend Tom who passed away at the age of 16. I had just prayed for him that morning and here was his obituary from 2001. I read over it and thought of him. And it just felt so nice that God had had me take a moment to pray an Our Father for him today.
Update: November 8 / Day 8. In another coincidence of one thing leading to another I eventually found myself online reading the name of a friend who the world has also lost to suicide. Let me say I felt really, really bad that I forgot her. And it was quite the shock to read her name and not only remember her, but to realize that I forgot her made my stomach sink. The Our Father said for her was immediate. The feeling of sadness and tears in my eyes about her were too.
Give God Your Yes 