10 Minute Daily Retreat: Broken Hearts

By Susanne Timpani -

‘My doctor is discussing palliative care.' Mary looked at me with sadness in her eyes. My friend had just had the worst news and all she could think of was how it would affect me.
Three weeks later I got the phone call. ‘Mary is in the hospice and is failing fast.'

Her bed has been pushed out in the garden in the shade of a leafy tree. An impossibly blue sky stretches overhead and friends gather to pray and say farewell.

Sadness overwhelms me. We support each other, wondering why life has to be like this.

She slips into unconsciousness. We hold her hand and sing her favourite songs. We even dare to smile a little though our hearts are breaking.

A gifted vocalist, Mary exited the conscious world in the same way she had thrived in it, amidst singing and music.

Mary's heart was ready. We witnessed God's final note on Mary's page. 

 We, her bereaved friends, pray. We give thanks. For we know that with the same infinite care, our Lord God brings healing to our broken hearts. 

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