Dear Friends, Almost every Sunday, when I been at Heart Lake United Church, we have been warmly and generously greeted by Linda Guennel on the way into the sanctuary. She was a ray of sunshine. She set the tone for our time together. And she often hobbled around quietly attending to other tasks related to our gathering in Christ’s name. She was tireless -- and deeply committed to her Lord, her faith, her family, and our faith community. Sadly, she died of pancreatic cancer August 8. In the months before, we observed how she battled her cancer with faith and grace and courage. Now, quite a number of us are aware of her absence, we are missing her, and we are grieving her death. This is a natural and healthy response. Good grief! Years ago, I had the privilege of hearing Elizabeth Kubler-Ross who had written profoundly and helpfully about grief and death and dying. At some point she wrote, “Over the years, I have learned that every life circumstance, even a crisis, can nourish your soul. Recently, the farm and home that I have loved so much -- for so many years -- burned down in a horrible fire. Everything that I owned, without exception, was lost. There was even speculation that foul play was involved.” “At moments like this, we stand at a fork in the road. If we take the fork most commonly traveled, we collapse, we give up, feeling hopeless and defeated. We focus on the negatives, losing ourselves in the problem. We point to our unhappy circumstances to rationalize our negative feelings.” “This is the easy way out. It takes, after all, very little effort to feel victimized. We can, however, take the other fork. We can view the unhappy experience as an opportunity for a new beginning. We can keep our perspective, look for the growth opportunities, and find an inner reservoir of strength.” How true! God’s people -- even if we are victims -- do not have to behave as victims. An unhappy experience is an opportunity for a new beginning. God can be at work in us! We can keep our perspective, find the growth opportunities, and find in our God an inner reservoir of strength. The prophet Isaiah said, “In quietness and trust shall be your strength.” (30:15) A woman once spoke of her husband’s death, which followed long months of illness. During those months, this woman tended to her husband, cared for the children, managed the home and looked after the business. It was obviously much more than one person could have accomplished, but she described it like this: “I had a strength on the inside, which came from the outside. An inside power from an outside source.” That was the way this woman described the Holy Spirit.” Indeed, God’s Spirit is at work in our lives -- to love -- to bless -- to encourage -- to direct -- to heal – and to strengthen us. The Spirit channels God’s grace. The Spirit conveys God’s grace. We are often in some degree of grief – grieving someone or some thing – or many people and many things. It is part of life in all its fullness. We grieve knowing that God is with us and for us – life, in death, and in life beyond death. Grace and peace, Reverend Jim Cairney