A candle is lit. Prayers and Hail Marys have been said. Calls have been made. I still feel helpless and lost.

Determined to make food and drop it off at your home, I have spent nearly an hour sifting through recipes trying to find the right meal to sustain your family. Every fifth recipe is from your kitchen. The only one I want to make for them I don’t have all the ingredients for. Nothing will sustain them but you.

I see your face, feel your smile and hear your words. You are a fighter, a go-getter, a loyal friend and one of the smartest women I know. You are unafraid to be yourself, wise beyond your years and a nurturer to so many. Now, you need to be nurtured.

Since the dawn of our friendship I have imagined how silly we would look playing card games on quiet afternoons with grey hair and hearing aids. I have worked, played, laughed and cried with you.

God, please bring d back to us. Heal her so that her boys can have her back. Heal her so that we might laugh and cry and enjoy more life with her. Lord, ease her pain, calm her worries and hold her close to you now and forever, but please bring her back to us.