Topic: coping
A few minutes ago, I lightly tapped a large, attractive flower pot against our concrete patio. How shocking to hear the sound of cracking! So clear, yet so faint, that I was almost certain before I looked.
That pot has been a part of my life for over twenty years! It housed a gorgeous jade in a spot that the plant seemed to love until I made another big mistake and moved it outdoors, then neglected to bring it in before the first freeze a few years back!!!
Breaking the pot wouldn't have hurt quite so bad on any other day. Already, my heart was heavy because today is the day for the graveside memorial service for our good friend Karl.
The pot can be replaced, but not our friend. Maybe I'll find a pot that I treasure far more. Never can anyone step in and take Karl's place, though. He was about as close as I can imagine a brother ever being!
There is one thing that these losses have in common, though it's a very poor comparison: both remind me that the longer we have a person or a belief or even something like an old pot that we treasure, the more difficult it is to imagine life ever being as good for us. Old things pass away, of course. The "coming new" in life takes a long time, if ever it happens.
