Concentric Circle Elegy

In the final week of the Lent retreat we were asked to write an elegy, a poem about how we would like to be remembered. It was a surprisingly hard thing to do. It felt somehow wrong to be celebrating my own life rather than waiting for someone else to do it after I died! It was a humbling thing to do. It gave rise to great gratitude to God for all that my very blessed life has enabled me to be and do. It was also a powerful reminder that how I live now will probably be how I will be remembered. Here's what I wrote - and I encourage you to write your own!

She was a quiet child

often at home, unwell

with books as her companions.

Yet remembered now 

as a pioneer, a risk taker

and a writer of books!

People often commented 

on her smiling eyes and 

safely welcoming presence - 

gifts that grew into

decades of soul companioning.

She was a creative teacher

first of children, later of adults.

Always looking for ways

to make learning fun

and deep at the same time.

"Concentric Circles of Faith" 

is how she describes her journey.

The ripples growing wider each year

evolving constantly into

the endless expanse

of Infinite Love.