Life, death and the in between moments.

This weekend started with a funeral.

I spent many days and nights at this woman’s house for cub scout meetings and playing with her son. I always felt welcomed. It was my duty to pay respects.

She was buried the same cemetery as many of my own family members. It’s just around the bend the bend in the road from the home where she raised her son and finished the last decades of her life.

Reflecting on this distance quickly become a meditation on the brevity of life.

Though short, our lives contain worlds. Our experience is so wide ranged we often say things happened a “whole lifetime ago”.

Sometimes we “worlds” at once.

This morning at church, I noticed subtle change. Our list of people to intercede for went from “So-and-so” to “The family of So-and-so”.

Another parent of a family friend lost. Another funeral to attend. I immediately thought of my friend, his wife and kids with a sigh of sorrow.

Moments later, I turned my head to see a woman I know who has struggled with miscarriage caressing an unmistakable baby bump. Her face looked hopeful. The anticipation of a totally new life. My heart was filled with joy for her and the husband by her side.

The sorrow of death and the joy of life intermingled in one morning.
Mourn with those who mourn.
Rejoice with those who rejoice.

Be present in whatever moment you find yourself in.

Happy Sunday.
See you Monday
- Daniel Otto Spencer Polehn