"Spirits Open to a Thrust of Grace"

I'm still pondering something that happened in October of 2011.

A woman in our congregation asked me if I was coming to her wedding the following week. Not sure if I'd heard her correctly, I said "Your wedding?"

She replied "I guess John (my husband) didn't tell you. I asked him not to tell everyone, but I didn't mean you!" After getting all the details, I told her how delighted I would be to attend.

My friend, who had been a widow for several decades, was going to marry her childhood sweetheart, who she had dated over 50 years ago. They had reconnected after the death of his wife several years back.

The wedding was a joyous occasion. Their families just "meshed" as she put it, and a more lively and heartfelt wedding I have never attended. Afterward, at the reception, I discovered just how nice all the family members actually were.

The happy couple went West for their honeymoon, to see relatives. They returned and settled into a routine.

On the nineteenth day of their marriage, we received a telephone call. The bridegroom was dead, from injuries sustained in a car accident.

Needless to say, we were all devastated. Telephone calls and social media posts flew from members of our church community and beyond. One question that people kept asking was "Where is God in all this? Where?" My answer was "I don't know, but I'm sure He is here".

Fast forward a few days. One of my voice students was having a concert in her home to let a few friends hear some of her original compositions. I was invited and was glad to go, as she is a talented songwriter and it sounded like a lovely way to spend an evening.

Each song came with a short explanation. The concert was intense, spiritual, intimate and moving. I was immersed in all of these emotions when my mood was shattered by her description of circumstances that had lead her to include a particular piece.

She described being the first to the scene of a car crash that week, and climbing in beside the driver, an elderly man. She told how he grasped her hand and calmed as she spoke to him soothingly; how she was praying for him; how he quietly drifted away. I reacted noticeably when she told the story and she realized that I knew who the man was. I cried through that song, and the ones that followed. At intermission, we could hardly wait to embrace and celebrate this bittersweet bond that had been established.

I hurried home as soon as the concert was over. I had to tell my friend that God had made his presence known in her tragedy. Her husband died in the presence of an angel sent by God, a caring Christian woman who had held his hand and prayed for him as he passed away.

Her reaction was everything that I had thought it would be and more. For her, God paid another visit. Her husband had not liked being alone, and was on that road coming home to her because he didn't want to stay alone in his apartment, which he had been closing down. Even though it was late and he could have stayed, he wanted to be with his new wife. For her, the thought that he had died alone was nearly unbearable, and this news gave her a great deal of comfort.

As for me, I felt humbled to have been the conduit, the "fifth business" in this story. The lyrics I kept hearing in my head were "Spirits open to a Thrust of Grace". I felt like my spirit had been thrust open by Grace and it brought me to my knees with wonder that I should have a small part in this story of such love and comfort!

God, thank you for using me, and thank you for showing how much you love us by providing a pair of earthly arms to hold his man until he reached your everlasting arms.

Don't the hours go shorter as the days go by
We never get to stop and open our eyes
One minute you're waiting for the sky to fall
The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all

Lovers in a dangerous time

These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This fragrant skin, this hair like lace
Spirits open to a thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste
- excerpt from "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" by Bruce Cockburn




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