My Heart Sings

I did a good thing today.
I attend a grief support group at work. One of the women had lamented not feeling able to mourn the loss of her sister last year due to, well, lots of things, including the absence of any obituary. So we had D___ Day today. The sister and I had emailed earlier in the week so I could get enough information to put together what turned out to be a two-page obit, more of a eulogy, I think. I brought samples of things D____ loved: lyrics to Cat Stevens' songs, synopses of her favorite movies, internet images of her favorite artists. Someone brought D____'s favorite books from the library, and another person brought a blanket to be monogrammed with the sisters' names. Someone brought a cake, and another brought her a statue of two girls playing together, with a saying about sisters and guardian angels. She, herself, brought beautiful pictures of the two of them as children, and several of D___ by herself. When I read the eulogy, my friend cried. When I got to the part where I mentioned D___'s favorite TV shows included Damages, I pulled out my secret weapon: an email I received just this morning from one of the cast members of Damages, Marlyne Afflack, who had a small recurring role in Season 1 of Damages. She expressed her condolences to the sister and assured her that she was praying for her. My friend cried harder. It was actually quite a beautiful moment.

I think I helped her a little bit. But I know I helped myself even more.

God gave me a wonderful opportunity to do something for another person...and I snatched it up and ran with it. Thank you, God, for giving me a moment to take my eyes off my own sorrow and focus on the needs of another.

I did a good thing.