Today's scripture lessons include Psalm 30 with the concluding verses as paraphrased by Eugene Peterson: "You did it: you changed wild lament into whirling dance. You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers. I'm about to burst with song. I can't keep quiet about you." Sorrow and grief are real. Tragedy has invaded many homes. This family lost two precious baby children during one winter: one at the beginning of November and the other in late January. I can barely imagine the sorrow in that home all those cold nights and gray days. How does one move beyond death into life?

I admit that to me the psalmist makes it sound easy and quick. That has rarely been my experience. I have observed that sorrow is eased with memories of better days, and the embrace of family and friends. And the spring that eventually comes after a winter like this one, even when it takes years.

This image is from Roslyn, Washington, where there are 26 historic cemeteries. And a thousand stories of people remembered and families cared for, and promises kept until the dancing begins again.