A Long Drive to the Northwoods

SHE took me to Millinocket to visit my friend Pat.  Pat is a bit forgetful, but she loves me a lot and I like going for walks with her.  I also got to spend an afternoon with Sally who cooked me an egg and let me lie on her nice cool grass.

SHE complained that black flies bit her, but they didn't bother me at all.  SHE and Pat were very sad because a good friend of theirs died.  The woman was a minister like SHE is, but I guess Congregational is a different kind of church.  The woman minister just loved Millinocket and planned to retire there with her husband.  I guess God had a different idea.  She was only in her early 60s.  We didn't know she had diabetes and had had polio as a girl, so I guess her body was not too strong.

SHE says Lyn's heart was a big as the country around Millinocket.  It was Lyn who knew who needed what in town, and she knew more about how to help abused women than just about anybody.  She also knew who to go to for money to help people.  SHE also says the town has no idea yet how much she will be missed.  I do remember that that Lyn always had a nice scritch for me, but she was a cat lady.  She was most proud of her Maine Coon Cat.  It was bigger than me.

A Note from Her:  I still haven't processed Lyn's death.  Whenever I went to Millinocket to see Pat, Lyn and Milton would be invited over for drinks and hors d'oeuvres and sometimes they joined us for dinner afterwards.  The conversations were far-ranging stimulating. She was truly my sister-in-Christ and I miss her.  She had completed the work for a D. Min. and would have received her degree the week after she died.  The seminary awarded it to her posthumously and had her hood encased in a display box.  Her classmates made sure there was an empty chair for Lyn at the ceremony. Part of the reason her memorial service was so long was the degree and hood were awarded a second time for her congregation to see.  I know it won't be the same for me to go up there.  Pat will miss her pastor very much too,

Prayer:
Gracious and Loving God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: Deal graciously with Milton, and Pat and Lyn's congregation in their grief.  Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness and strength to meet the days to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (adapted from the BCP, 494)