December 2: Never Forgot Charlotte, Remembrance, Prayer for Ray's Family

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.  It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.  Charlotte was both.

I start this post with the final paragraph of Charlotte's Web.  It is, basically, E. B. White's eulogy for his main character.  It's simple, beautiful, and heartbreaking.  It captures all those complex emotions children feel when dealing with any kind of loss.  It teaches the young reader that memory is a strong and concrete thing.  It preserves all the good things of life and allows you to release the bad.  Grief.  Sadness.  Absence.


I am sitting in my office in the English Department at the university.  It is late in the evening.  Most of the offices are empty.  I just walked down the hallway to my friend Ray's office.  People have created a make-shift memorial wall for him.  On the frosted glass wall, messages are being written.  Dedications.  Jokes.  Quotes.  Things that give Ray's friends and family comfort.  In some ways, it's like looking at Charlotte's web.  The words and memories are still there, even if the web is empty.

It is a week of mourning here.  The sadness is truly palpable.  On Saturday, we will celebrate Ray's life in church and then gather for a little while at the university to laugh, hug, and heal.  The annual English Department Christmas party has been canceled.  A scholarship is being established in Ray's name.  Other tributes will follow, I'm sure.

Tonight, I ask you to pray for Ray's family.  He left behind two daughters.  Much of the English Department faculty are still in shock.  One friend told me on Sunday that he's "simply heartbroken."  I'm sure his daughters are unmoored.  So please pray for these two young women this week.  And, every once in a while over the holidays, pray for them again.  Joy is going to be a precious commodity for them this Christmas.

Saint Marty is going to walk down the hall now and add something to Ray's memorial wall.  Something that would have made Ray laugh.  Because that's what Ray loved to do the most.