From Women's Uncommon Prayer Book

When A Woman Friend Faces Death

Sometimes we forget we were born. 
We remember we were born only when it seems that life is no longer on our terms.

We live life daily. We make our big decisions. 
We love. We play. We fight. We lose. We weep. 
We pretend for a while that we are in control.

How foolish we feel when a woman friend faces death. 
How silly we are with our words and our thoughts.

We are scared. We feel pity. We feel relief, believing that perhaps we are different, stronger, wiser. We still believe that we have somehow escaped mortality, that life will never leave us. We will have our moments forever.

Why can we not see the courage in their eyes, their wisdom, the soaring souls?  Why do we not realize that they are the pioneers with compassion for us?

For those who are remembering their birth have seen beyond life.  They have come face-to-face with their spirit. We must recognize these living spirits among us. They hold in their heart what we see and know not. They hold life. They hold courage. They hold faith. They hold eternity.

They need us not.