April 1: In His Heart, Prayer for Heartbroken Friend

Wilbur never forgot Charlotte.  Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart.  She was in a class by herself...

I think one of the reasons Charlotte's Web has endured is because it teaches children about love and loss.  The first time I read it, I was only around seven years old.  I remember sitting in a living room chair, crying my eyes out.  For decades, children have been grieving the death of Charlotte.  She's taught generations of young people how to deal with sorrow.

I have a friend whose wife died last week.  They'd been married almost 52 years.  When I saw him on Sunday, I gave him a hug and asked him how he was doing.  "Not good," he said with a sad smile.  I hugged him again.

His wife had been ill for some time.  It was not an unexpected passing.  That doesn't matter.  My friend is heartbroken, missing his partner, the love of his life.  And I am heartbroken for him.

Please pray for him this week.  He needs strength and support and, maybe, a little hope.

You know that Saint Marty was feeling sorry for himself last night.  Tonight, in the face of his friend's huge loss, Saint Marty's feeling like a schmuck.

Yup, that's me