Immanuel,
thank you that you are God with us
even in our final good-byes.
Thank you for the ebbing of life,
which is as holy as its birth,
even with all the indignities
that infirmities bring.
Thank you for loved ones gathered,
for memories shared and savoured,
and for quiet vigils,
sweeter than all words,
where all we do is breathe.
And at the stillest moment of all,
as we slip from time and space,
you catch us,
gathering up all of who we are,
our great loves and sorrows,
our deep hopes and dreams.
You move with us from a present
that was always a gift
into a future as mysterious
and as lovely
as the first star
of morning.
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.