Kyrie Eleison is latin, meaning: “Lord, have mercy.”

So, I got up this morning with a few things that I wanted to get done today.  I was preparing for an 11 o’clock appointment and was moving steadily around the house.  About 10:30 or so, I grabbed my phone to check my messages.  As I clicked away, I noticed that there were some emails that I had overlooked.  I began skimming the titles and from whom they were sent.  I noticed that there was a message from a friend of mine.  The title read, “The dreaded messenger of death.”  I opened the email in angst toward what I would read next.  As I read the body of the email, its contents had me stunned.  It told of the passing of one of our mutual friend’s son.  After reading that, I had to sit down.

The news pounded me into a deep, pensive state.  Suddenly, my errands didn’t matter as much, and all I could do was think.  I thought, “God, what can I say about this?  How can [my friend] get through this?  This is something else.”  I shook my head in disbelief.  I instantly began to pray.  I prayed for my friend’s strength, peace of mind and comfort for his heart.  That’s all I had to give.  Since then, I have tried to be as positive as I possibly can, finding it difficult.  I want to call my friend to encourage him, but what would I say?  This is a tough one for me, because it has become an assumption that children bury their parents.  This young man was in his prime (20, I think) and his father must now have the overwhelming task of laying him to rest.  Wow.  Lord, have mercy, indeed.

I can remember a time when my friend and I entered a conversation about my faith.  He started to ask questions, but we were interrupted.  I want the opportunity to explore this curiosity.  When I was in my dark season, I had my faith to pull me through (especially on those days when living was a daily, deliberate choice).  What does he [friend] have to pull him through?  I don’t know, but I’ve added him to my prayer list, that’s for sure.  God knows what he’s doing, and I won’t understand such occurrences on this side of life.

It isn’t often that I speak directly of my faith in God, but such a time warrants it.  My faith is all that I have.  Being a creature of habit, I tend to “stick” with things that have proven themselves to work over and over again.  I can dig it.

Until next time: Love & Peace

-Herbie