Courage to Face Tragedy

My dear friend just wrote me that his niece and nephew found their mother on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood, stabbed in her throat. Paramedics and doctors could not save her. She died at the hospital yesterday.

I picture shock waves of pain, fury and regret searing her loved ones, stabbing them too. So with all my being, I pray now and will continue to pray for their healing from this dark event, this tragic ending of a mother who was loved and cherished.

I pray for us all. May we have the courage and the grace to catch glimmers of hope through the window of peace, despite the anguish which inevitably touches our lives at some time, in some way. May we experience the tenderness of the One who is compassion itself.

As a small antidote to this scary, cold time of trauma, I sent my friend, who in many ways is the central healer in his family, this blessing: "For Courage" by John O'Donohue.

FOR COURAGE


When the light around you lessens
And your thoughts darken until
Your body feels fear turn
Cold as stone inside,

When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen,

When one voice commands
Your whole heart,
And it is raven dark,

Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens the world,

Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light,

Know that you are not alone
And that darkness has a purpose;
Gradually it will school your eyes
To find the one gift your life requires
Hidden within this night-corner.

Invoke the learning
Of every suffering
You have suffered.

Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark.
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.

A new confidence will come alive
To urge you toward higher ground
Where your imagination
Will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!