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Author Archives: Lora Brandis
Comfort for your mother’s heart
“They” say that the second year after a death is the hardest. I don’t know if that’s true or not. What is true is that you’ve gotten past all of the “firsts” – the birthdays, the holidays, the weird Hallmark … Continue reading
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Searching for gratitude
I am looking, searching really, for gratitude. Things for which to be grateful. I took a Facebook sabbath during the Thanksgiving holiday, avoiding all the happy family photos. It’s not that we are an unhappy family. We are a sad … Continue reading
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I don’t care
Losing a loved one is a terrible way to arrive at not caring. It makes sense though. The worst has already happened. Whatever else happens in life can’t be this bad. I don’t care. The worst has already happened. I … Continue reading
To make it real
We took a photo of Zoe after she died. James thought of it first. Frank said he’d been thinking the same thing. I thought it was a good idea so I did it too. I thought how I’d wished we’d … Continue reading
The Shape of Grief
A friend recently reminded me about the poem “The Shape of Grief” by Albert Huffstickler. I know it well. I wrote a sermon five years ago that referenced it, which I’ll include below. There is a natural shape to our … Continue reading
You have your memories to comfort you
This is what my sister said to me after she read the following piece I wrote for a grief class. “You have your memories to comfort you.” I wouldn’t advise saying that to anyone in the early stages of grief. … Continue reading
Making Meaning of Loss
The quote from the Upanishads stayed with me through all of the loss I have experienced this past year. I quote it a lot. It helps me make meaning of all the death we have experienced in my family. I … Continue reading
Walking Each Other Home, sermon excerpt
I am starting my “musings on grief” with an excerpt from the first sermon I preached after my month-long summer break in 2019. July had been a month filled with loss, a month that started with my father-in-law’s death and … Continue reading
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There’s No Place Like Home
When you find it’s me you’re missing, if you hope I’ll return, to your thoughts I’ll soon be listening, in the road I’ll stop and turn. Then the wind will set me racing as my journey nears its end, and … Continue reading
“Living Inside Hope” – Easter Sermon March 31, 2013
“Living Inside Hope” © By Rev. Lora Brandis Preached March 31, 2013 Conejo Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship I tried giving up hope for Lent once. It was harder to give up hope than to give up sugar for Lent, which … Continue reading
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The Heart of the Matter 