Dear Companions in Care:

Over the past week several people have expressed their condolences, adding some expression of not knowing what to say. From my perspective that’s more than okay, because in some ways words give us a way to carry things around. When something is emotionally too big, or too heavy, or too messy to contain, our verbal boxes split wide open to reveal their unspeakable content, things that just are not easy to carry. Such is the case with loss, love, deep pain and euphoric joy.

The Apostle Paul alluded to the limitation of language, referring to “wordless groans” in the Spirit’s intercession on our behalf (Romans 8.26). What’s annoying