Sherri slipped away from us at 11:23 pm on 11/23/2015, when the “hour met the day and the day met eternity.” This quote from Sherri’s memorial service reminds me of that turning point as we approach the one year mark. It has been a year of adjustment, of course. Who would expect otherwise? But we are okay.

Last January, I wrote about an extraordinary sign that came to us when our cut Christmas tree started sprouting new growth. I took this as a fairly straight-forward reminder that life goes on, expressed through Sherri’s love of botany. But even while that was happening, our family was also quick to recognize that our lives would never be the same.

When we lose someone who is a part of our daily existence, we are forced to take a longer view. Against the backdrop of eternity, life on earth is pretty short. Yet it is the time we have to define who we are. We are grateful that Sherri has given us many reminders of who she is, and that many people celebrate those gifts with us.

Love seems to be the defining force in the universe, because it can not itself be defined. It is universally recognized, though we can only experiment with its effects. Guided by love, the human form evolved to receive love, and to give it with unlimited capacity. Life itself is not ours, so we define “our life” by what we love and shape it with our conscious action and determined purpose. Yet we mourn the loss of the material form of someone. Without that form, their life, consciousness, and self-awareness are harder to see, but they are still there if we look for the signs.

We appreciate having you all in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.