Reflection

Dear Friends,
I was so excited to see a young 10 yr old girl pulled from the rubles of the recent earthquake in Italy. Imagine being amidst the concrete for 17 hours. I am sure there are more people who are still alive, trapped but cannot be found in time. What travesty all around the world. We loose sight of all the pain, by masking it ourselves and occupying our time with happy thoughts, and events. One of our dear young people, who was Deborah's youth leader just lost a beloved co-worker. I believe the funeral is today. Like many of us, he has suffered the loss of friends at an early age. My oldest daughter's boyfriend has lost his best friend to suicide as well, less than a year ago. Too painful to talk about. People take their lives having been bullied by society, and unloved, so they thought. Today, mostly youth, beauty and money is worshiped. The rest are castaways, leftovers, that remain in a secluded fear of not being good enough for years, or sometimes even decades. As you know, world suicide prevention day is coming up on September the 10th. We must remember, those who are struggling, and are alone in their anxiety, depression and fears.
Today, I have the opportunity to trash, the bench that the young people hammered together on the beach where Deborah's body was found. It has signatures, and RIP words all over it. Do I want to keep it in my back yard? So many unanswered questions. Erasing what has happened can never take place. The other day, I visited my newly married daughter, and on her study desk was a big picture of Deborah. Yesterday, while cleaning my room, I also found an enlarged photo of Deborah, age 7 ish holding her niece in her arms with a big smile revealing her dimples in full bloom. I also found some nice frame to put her obituary invitation in. Deborah's Hero, her former employer who is a policeman came over on the 18th, to honor us, and spend time with us in our sorrow. These reflections and good will will always be treasured. Can we ever move on? The grave is still there. The Blessed Dead, awaiting their resurrection.