God is in the roses...

I’m struck again at the ways that God provides for us… Back in ’87 when I first learned about my familial hyperlipidemia, I learned that the prayers and concerns of a wider community make a huge difference. I have certainly felt that over the last months as my parents journey through hospice proceeded. Thank you to all who sent prayers our ways.

Another wonderful blessing during these difficult days has been re-connecting with family, some of whom I haven’t seen in decades. We left my mother’s funeral with commitments to connect under more joyful circumstances. I hope we’re able to keep those commitments but even if we don’t, it was wonderful to be together.

A third piece took place that was entirely unexpected and grace filled. When we arrived in Pittsburgh, my brother-in-law told me that the Three Rivers Arts Festival was taking place and that on Saturday evening, Rosanne Cash was performing a free concert. I think Rosanne Cash is a wonderful songwriter and I really appreciate her work but hadn’t heard anything from her most recent CD – Black Cadillac.
Cheryl and I took a picnic and went to the Point to eat and hear the concert. Rosanne took the stage and played the title tune, Black Cadillac, and then announced that much of the material they would perform would be from that CD… a recording about loss and transformation inspired by the deaths of her parents. The lyrics spoke to me exactly where I was and gave voice to feelings that I wasn’t able to speak yet. Thank you Rosanne Cash for helping me in my journey to healing. As I write these words, I’m listening to the CD…

God is in the roses
the petals and the thorns
storms out on the oceans
the souls who will be born
and every drop of rain that falls
falls for those who mourn
God is in the roses
and the thorns

The sun is on the cemetery
leaves are on the stones
there never was a place on earth
that felt so much like home
we're falling like the velvet petals
we're bleeding and we're torn
but God is in the roses
and the thorns

I certainly feel both bleeding and torn, but God is here in both the roses and the thorns… And when she sang House on the Lake I couldn’t help but realize I will never visit Pittsburgh to see my parents again and my ties to the steel city are forever changed. I know the feeling that “it’s a lonely world…” but I also know what it feels like to never really be alone.