I sit here with one of life’s more uncomfortable tasks to do…write in a sympathy card. Why does it seem so difficult and awkward to choose the right words? I want to be compassionate and caring, but at the same time offer hope and encouragement for the times ahead. I want to share a favorite memory from the past that will hopefully give the recipient a smile and a fond memory of their own. Maybe the difficulty of this task lies in my own mortality, or that of my loved ones…for death visits us all, in some form or fashion. But I guess what is most important is not in the words themselves, but the remembrance of the life that is gone…and in the knowledge that God intervenes on behalf of those who are broken in spirit and grieving.