Could it be?

.

Has it really been a year since we lost our Jill?



For those of you who were not reading my blog a year ago, "my" Jill was my first cousin, a young sweet woman, who was just beginning a teaching career in special education, and just a few months away from her wedding, when she was diagnosed with sarcoma, a particularly brutal and invasive tumor. She fought, by today's standards, a very short battle. For her, there was no earthly miracle.

Jill was my Peach's Godmother, and we still talk about her regularly. Peach prays for her every single night without fail. If it is possible for a little girl's Godmother be more stupendous than in real life, Jill is now her heavenly Godmother, more magnanimous than ever.

I would like to thank, again, all of my long distance friends who prayed for Jill in her last days. She may not have received a miracle for her earthly body, but she brought hundreds of people together in prayer, and that offers great hope of miracles to come.

Prayer for the Dead

God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.

Amen.