Today is my first day acknowledging All Saints Day. I watched the National Cathedral prayer service this morning and realized just how beautiful the concept and purpose behind this particular feast day is compared with the others I have read about this year. It feels rather poignant at the moment. I have left my kin, my hometown, and all I have ever known to set out on my own journey with my partner. From what I understand All Saints Day is not a celebration of venerated saints but rather those in our lives who have passed on from this mortal life. It is a day to recognize, remember, and offer up gratitude for them. This ties well into my gratitude journal today.
Out of my 4 grandparents, 3 have already passed on. My bonus grandfather, my Godmother’s father, also has already passed on. These 4 of course were a huge part of my life and upbringing and I cannot help but picture them looking over me. Strangely perhaps, the other person I thought of this morning during the service was a woman I never had the privilege to meet during her life. My great-grandmother Eddie, passed away when my mother was only 13 and yet I cannot help but recognize her as a saint of our family. We have her diary and the stories of every life she touched from their own perspective. I do not know if she alone is responsible for our family motto or if it goes beyond her further into our ancestors. “The Lord will provide,” even in moments where I completely rejected religion and disavowed my faith I would find myself muttering this line in times of great anxiety. I have no doubt that her love has extended down to my generation. It is a sensation I do not know how to explain adequately. It is as if there has always been a hand on my shoulder or a shawl wrapped around me protecting me. With the passing of each of my grandparents that feeling has only grown stronger. I have been blessed to have had a family so rich in love and closeness. We were never rich monetarily but I have never doubted that I was loved. I have always felt cared for and wanted by my family.
So throughout today, I will be thinking about these 6 people who truly shaped my life and taught me where true riches lay in life. I would encourage everyone, even those of you who are not religious to set aside a moment to think back on your loved ones and ancestors who have passed away. Take a moment to give thanks for their lives, love, and every lesson passed on to you from them. Gratitude and remembrance never need religion to spur these moments, it just happened to work out that way for me today.