Hope from grief

One of the joys of the 2005 Bayly family Christmas in Bartlett, Illinois, was the presence of our sister-in-law, Sandy, with her new husband, Joe, and children, Cassie, Sarah, Frances and David.

Sandy is the widow of our brother Nathan, the youngest in our family who died of esophageal cancer at age 39 in 2001.

Sandy married Nate in 1983 fully aware that he would likely die young from cystic fibrosis (the probable root cause of his esophageal carcinoma). I'm sure it was somewhat difficult for Sandy and Joe to come to our family Christmas--the last at the family home in Bartlett--but their presence helped make a wonderful finale to our year.

How grateful we are for Sandy's new happiness, and for the kindness of Joe to Sandy, the children, and our entire family.

I thought of Sandy and Joe as I read this deeply touching article on remarriage after the loss of a spouse in today's Wall Street Journal. Read the article. It tells a beautiful story in which God's grace seems very apparent in the coming together of a 9/11 widower with a friend's widow. (Link is valid only for a week.)