APRIL 24
Injuries hurt not more in the receiving than in the remem-
brance. A small injury shall go as it comes; a great injury
may dine or sup with me; but none at all shall lodge with
me...Grief for things past that cannot be remedied, and care
for things to come that cannot be prevented, may easily hurt,
can never benefit me. I will therefore commit myself to God
in both, and enjoy the present.
—JOSEPH HALLAlmost all of us have some “unfinished business” with a
loved one who has died—hurts that never were resolved,
questions we never got answers to, things we would like to
have said but never did.
It is easy to brood over these, to torture ourselves with “if
only” yearnings to somehow make it right.
Two things may help free us from these broodings. One
is to realize the futility of such self-torture and decide not
to give it hospitality. A second is to honor the possibility
that whatever life exists beyond death, surely it is more
compassionate, more understanding, more forgiving than
we experience on our human plane; and that our loved one
is aware of our dilemma, and all our unresolved questions
are absorbed into the light of a higher truth.
I will gather all my unresolved hurts and guilt in my hand and
lay them at the feet of the All-wise, the All-knowing.