This is the month of “March madness,” and therein lies an endless progression of basketball games, played by both countable and countless college athletes for fame (and money). It is a repetition of dunks and doubts, fast breaks and lame excuses, excited fans and hoarse broadcasters, mad coaches and frustrated officials. It may do little to calm the nerves or make glad the heart unless, of course, you are a fan(atic) and love basketball and its theater.
However, March is different for me. I may look occasionally at a basketball game, but I am much too old to get excited about the playoffs and I don’t often watch the professional games.
When I wrote the following, I realized that thousands of people lose their loved one each day, and I am not unique in sorrow. However, for me, March is month of contemplation because my wife Joice died on March 22, 2021. These are some reflections from my original lament:
AS SHE LAY DYING
As she lay dying, I held her hand.
Her eyes were closed, and yet I knew:
She heard me for
I’d see an eyelid flicker or a tear,
to show she knew that I was near.
The hum of angels she heard close by,
not in some distant part of the sky.
Yesterday I kissed her lips,
but today her mouth is open and
she breathes hard.
Jesus is calling, “Come to me,” and
I, at her side, feel His presence.
It helps us both to understand:
This is not the end.
And as I squeeze her hand,
I pray that if, today, she goes home,
“Lord allow it sacred and not alone.”
The angels have now taken her,
Oh, merciful God, and our great King,
She is now with you, and I can hear her sing,
“Thank you, God, Creator of all,
I now rest in you, complete, as before the fall.”
March 2021
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