Skip to main content

The sun shines through the darkest clouds

There is something about the sun that lifts my spirits on pretty much all occasions. Watching the sun reflect off the Mon as I drove down the street where I worked inevitably would make me feel at ease. I do miss that.

While driving to church Easter morning, the sun was shining brightly. I told myself that this was going to be a better week. It just had to be. Last week was spent mourning the deaths of three slain Pittsburgh police officers and feeling my heart break for the family of two kids who went to Jordan's school who were tragically killed in a car accident. The week ended with Father Elmer, a beloved retired priest at my church, accidentally running into a handful of people after the Good Friday service, killing one and injuring others.

It was at once sad and heart-warming at the Easter Vigil mass Saturday night. Walking in the portico and confronting a makeshift memorial for the crash brought tears to my eyes. But listening to Father John talk about people coping with a tragedy and how everyone injured in that crash asked about Fr. Elmer made me feel better. That the family who lost their mother/wife/grandmother is so concerned about how Fr. is doing is a testament to the human spirit and the ability to forgive. (Having TV cameras shoved in your face during mass does provide a little levity, I suppose.)

Yes, last week was not my favorite. But knowing the sun shines through the darkest clouds gives me hope. It reminds me that there is good in the world. That people can overcome tragedy. That there are everyday heroes out there walking among us.

So I will continue to embrace the sun as I feel it but also try to be okay with the rain when it comes too.
Labels:

Comments

Christine said…
I happened to be driving through Forest Hills last week when the accident happened at the church. I didn't know WHAT was going on, but I saw one, then another, then another, then another ambulance speeding in the other direction. I even turned KDKA on the radio to see if I could find out anything, but didn't hear the story until that night on the news. So sad! (And almost the same thing had just happened a week or so before at the Dellalo's near where I live.) Glad you were able to find comfort amidst the sorrow.
April 14, 2009 at 9:48 AM
Facie said…
I stopped by the school today to drop off Jordan's payment form for school. Afterward, I sat in the church for a few minutes, which happened to be just a few hours after the funeral of the woman who died. Incidentally, Fr. Elmer took part in that mass. I have to say, I felt sad sitting in that church. But maybe it is rain as much as anything else. Maybe I have SAD!
April 15, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What a year 2021 has been (Day 7)

I have almost no words for what happened yesterday at the Capitol. Protesting is one thing (though I truly think it is and has been time to move on). But to storm the Capitol? A friend on Facebook said, quite simply, " Almost 20 years ago a group of people on an airplane sacrificed themselves to protect the Capitol. How far we have fallen!" Indeed. And, yes, it IS storming the Capitol. I have seen numerous videos of people knocking down barricades/fences, pushing police officers, and breaking windows and climbing through them. That is beyond protesting. And even if a protestor did not do those things, if they followed those seditionists past those barricades and into the building, they are just as guilty. I did not support the violent protests this summer that resulted in damages to businesses and public property (I was in full support of the actual protests). But I also acknowledged as a white person, I cannot truly put myself in the position of a black person who is angry a
Post a Comment
Read more

Melancholy and Gratitude

 A few days ago, I decided to do gratitude posts on FB. I was good the first two days. Day 3 I got a little snarky as I posted about "doing the right thing" in regards to Covid. The Covid cases in Allegheny County have been on the rise. For a while, we had daily counts between 50 and 100. After July 4, we saw a spike for a few weeks, and then cases were back below 100. Unfortunately, other than one "low" day this week, where "only" 288 cases were reported, we have had between 500 and 620 daily cases. Fortunately, only a few people have died this week. But of course, any death is too many. I started to keep track of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations on 6/12/20. On that day, since 3/12, Allegheny County had had 2,034 cases, 352 people had been hospitalized, and 172 people had died. On 11/19/20, the county has seen a total of 22,042 cases, 1,724 people have been hospitalized, and 465 people have died from Covid since 3/12. In just over 8 months, we have had
Post a Comment
Read more

What, me worry?!

Although I don't like creepy, crawly things, I am not afraid of them and am perfectly able to kill them when I see them. I like the dark, heights don't bother me too much (though I don't love them), and ghosts don't concern me (not sure if they are real, but have not ruled them out either). So what worries me and sometimes keeps me awake at night (or infiltrates me dreams)? This first one is really, really strange, and kind of gross: overflowing toilets. This goes back to a time when I was in high school, and upon flushing the toilet in the "big bathroom" of our house, the water starting pouring over the seat. I freaked out! I can still picture it happening and my subsequent panicking as water flowed onto the floor. I don't recall who was at home who came to my rescue and, presumably, turned the water off. What I do recall is being afraid to flush the toilet when I was home alone after that for weeks if not longer. Fortunately, I have never overflowed a
8 comments
Read more