God, You Are Compassionate.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 (ESV)
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103: 13-14 (ESV)
Today would have been my sister’s 72nd birthday.
It seemed that Zita’s big day was often upstaged. Sometimes it landed on Thanksgiving. Her 13th birthday coincided with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I was a little spunky thing at the time, but I remember being upset that my sister’s special day had been spoiled.
The Finch Family, November 1963
Zita was the keeper of memory for our family, having stored all the family photos after our parents’ passing. Her husband set them aside as he went through her things and gave them to me. His kindness was a special blessing, given that he was navigating his own grief.
I had never seen this picture until this year. (Mama and Daddy, for all their fine qualities, were not album makers.) It encapsulates the sweetness of our family’s closeness and pleasure in each other’s company. We were not perfect. As I grew older, there would be disagreements and hurt feelings and occasional estrangement. But this photo reminds me of the love that never failed.
Zita’s birthday is different this year. The hearts of those who loved her are weighed down by memories, but she is light as a feather, soaring in the presence of the Father. As are Mama and Daddy. Only I remain.
But I am not alone. God has showered his compassion upon me in so many ways, from the love and support of family and friends to the comfort of Scripture to the beauty of His creation.
Days after Zita’s funeral, Mr. Pettit and I took a long-scheduled trip to Hawaii. It was a hard and beautiful journey.
As we left the islands to sail back to San Diego, I mentioned that I was disappointed we hadn’t seen one of Hawaii’s trademark rainbows.
That very afternoon, God delivered not one, but two.
Almighty God, Abba Father, You are truly close to the brokenhearted. I praise You for Your endless, abundant compassion and ask that You will enable me to comfort others as You have comforted me. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.
