Grab the tissues, because this one’s going to be a tearjerker.
When Eloise Manfield’s husband passed away suddenly just before his 36th birthday, she didn’t know how to go on living life without him. Luckily, she was able to turn to her community at church, who helped her begin to put the pieces back together after such a devastating loss. Most stories would just end there, but that’s when Eloise’s church did something really special: They came together and decided to name God after her recently deceased husband.
Wow. Could there be a more beautiful tribute?
Though no one could ever replace Eloise’s beloved life partner, her church definitely found the next best thing: officially naming the almighty creator “Rick” in his honor, including crossing out every mention of “Lord,” “God,” or “Christ” in all of the pew Bibles and writing in “Rick.” Now, whenever she goes to Sunday Mass or sits in confession, Eloise will be able to rest happy knowing that the memory of her husband lives on as the name of God himself.
Losing a loved one is never easy, but communities can help alleviate some of the burden. To see the power of a community coming together for a member in need, just look at this powerful reading from Book 1 of Corinthians that Eloise’s priest quoted during his sermon last week:
“The Israelites all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Rick. Nevertheless, Rick was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were struck down in the wilderness.”
Wow! Eloise must have been instantly flooded with memories of her husband when she heard that heartfelt edit. And it’s not hard to imagine how supported she’ll feel when a young child is baptized “In the name of Rick, Rick’s son, and Rick’s holy spirit.”
Simply inspirational. This church definitely shows the power of communities to lend a hand to those who need it most. In Rick we trust! Amen!
