I feel truly blessed and at the same time deeply saddened to be here
with you this morning. If my daughter was still alive, I would be
sitting amongst you listening to someone else speak, perhaps even her.
She was and is an angel of peace.
I believe that each of us has a purpose in life to continually
search for divine truth to direct our ever-expanding love to do good in
this world for the sake of all. We are all interconnected in ways
we cannot fathom; what we do to another we do also to ourselves.
Marianne, you have been a shining example of this as you continue to
touch the hearts and lives of people everywhere. What you are doing to
further the causes of peace is helping our world in so many ways and is
so essential in a world so entrenched in violence and war. Bless you.
As I share my thoughts, feelings and glimpses of my daughter with you this morning, I may have to take a moment to regroup as the sadness finds its way to the surface and longs for release.
During a speaking event last year by another person I admired, Wilson
Van Deusen, who has since passed on, he would often stop in the middle
of his heartfelt talk with tears streaming down his cheeks and then
continue on when he was able. He said that during these moments was
when he was overcome by the presence of God; the tears would not allow
him to talk and he soaked it in. My tears surely represent the presence of God or perhaps a gift from God as they symbolize the powerful love I feel for my daughter, the deep sadness in my heart, the feeling of forlorn
brought about by her absence and the immense joy that she brought into
my life during her time here on earth. They also represent the severe pain and anguish I feel daily since her horrendous death. When
I allow myself to feel the depth of my pain in an honoring way and not
a self-indulgent way, it is in those moments I feel more fully alive
and connected with God, in spite of the pain! I wish I didn
