Unanswered Ponderings by Susan L.

This can be a hard time of year for so many people. The recent loss or not so recent loss of a loved one can often be felt so acutely in a season geared to family gatherings. May God be with you at this time. Oddly enough, my own father has been in my thoughts lately although he's been gone twenty-nine years this month. His sudden death at 62 came as a shock to all of us. It hit me hard at the time being the ripe old age of nineteen. My Mom has since remarried to a wonderful, caring and compassionate man. He is a blessing to all our lives. My dad was a child of the Great Depression, a WWII veteran, and educated to grade 5. After that, self-taught and bi-lingual. He eventually rose to the ranks of upper/middle management in a large mortgage and housing corporation. He always had a hammer in his hand, constantly upgrading and improving or downright building the homes we lived in. The smell of sawdust reminds me of him. He achieved so much and I wonder what his thoughts would be on how my life turned out: divorced, and living with mental illness, not able to work full time (at this point) but relying on government assistance to get by. I know he was highly prejudiced about "those lazy _______!" It's funny how much this matters to me...one day we'll have a chance to talk. In the mean time, I 'll trust in a greater Father to uphold me and sustain me throughout this period of transition and recovery from the depths of the Black River. "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Lk 12:33