MAY 31
There is not one life which the Life-giver ever loses out of
His sight; not one which sins so that He casts it away; not
one which is not so near to Him that whatever touches it
touches Him with sorrow or with joy.
—PHILLIPS BROOKSParticularly if we have been care-givers for the one who has
died, it is hard to be free of the irrational question, “Who is
taking care of him or her now?” Who we wonder, is befriend-
ing our loved one? Who is standing close by to comfort and
assure, to show a newcomer to The Other Side what to do,
how it all works?
These questions are especially persistent and troubling if
the one who has died is a child or a young person—someone
who has needed our care, someone who’s likely to feel insec-
ure in new situations.
On one level these are irrational, needless questions. But
death is often not rational at all, and certainly the questions
that swirl around the subject trigger our most primordial
and elusive anxieties and hopes.
We grope for images to calm our fears. Phillips Brooks’s
figure of the Life-giver rings true—and is just what we need!
Into your hands—You, ever-present, ever-caring power of life and
love—I commend my loved one.