“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you,
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.
Job 12: 7 – 10
Last week our beautiful golden retriever, Finn, died from cancer. There’s an emptiness in the house despite all his lingering fur. I find myself looking for him at the side of our bed and listening for the jingle of his tags on the stairs. He was Tim’s work buddy, lying near him all day in his home office.
Finn taught us so much in the five years he was with us. He lived with exuberance in each moment whether it was his twice daily walks, swims in the nearby streams or big lake, or eating the popcorn that flew to the kitchen floor from our air popper. And his unconditional love was the healing love we all needed in the darkest moments of the pandemic. We’d often find our daughters lying with him for comfort in their loneliness.
As I grieve our dog, I can’t help but think of those whose grief is so much deeper. This week marked over 1 million people in the United States dying from Covid-19. A number that is too large to comprehend, but each number representing a unique person who was loved.
One of those very unique people was Earl Rosenwinkel. He was one of the first people to die in St. Louis County from Covid 19. Earl was a biologist, a teacher, and a free spirit. He would play his large bongo drums for worship. Many Sunday mornings he’d carry his drums in big green army duffle bags all the way up the hill to our sanctuary, often before dawn. I’d often find him waiting for me outside the church. He walked everywhere he went. Moving slowly but steadily under his load. He had seen a lot in his life and had stories to share with any who would listen.
Earl loved to write responses to the Psalms. He based them on his belief in the connections between people and creation. He was also deeply influenced by his studies of Native American spirituality. Here is part of his response to Psalm 23, “The Creator is our Shepherd, we will always have what we need. The Creator makes us rest in green valley bottoms; the Creator makes us walk along quiet, clear spring waters.”
This week we will walk along the quiet spring waters, maybe taking a moment to carry Finn’s collar like we did the first walk after he died. He taught us well. Yes, “in God’s hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being.” May we know we are all so connected by the breath, the Spirit of our living God.
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