Many of my friends and family had a rough week and a half. It has been hard to see my loved ones suffer. We just returned from Arizona where my wife’s grandmother passed away last week. My family gave me the honor of officiating the memorial service, but the mourning process is never easy as we all deal with the evil of death and the stress of renegotiating relationships and family systems without a key figure’s presence. A good friend received terrible news about a disease attacking their body, another was in and out of the hospital, another was laid off from work, and still another’s car caught on fire while driving on the freeway. I won’t divulge names, but please pray for these dear people.

As I’ve tried to make sense of the hard times that have fallen on my loved ones, the title of an Over the Rhine song has come to mind: “All My Favorite People Are Broken.” A few months ago Wess posted this song and I can think of no better description of what is happening to my loved ones. It is a beautiful piece of art.