Sitting at Aunt Helen's funeral last week, listening to the pastor, I again realized that I do not believe in life after death or eternal life as some lofty place in the heavens. Nor do I believe in the bodily resurrection of the departed. (I am undecided about Jesus.)

Still, I do see Christianity and a higher, immutable moral order as the best way to live. I do see daily prayers, prayer beads and the meditative literature of Christianity as essential. I am rereading Celebration of Discipline (do that every few years).

Helens' family found her prayer journal. They were surprised, I think. Her faith life and her rich life of activity and service and re-reading Celebrations of Discipline leads me to use this blog as a prayer journal.

Last week, my wife's aunt Helen died. An amazing, active to the end woman who transcended the limitations of poverty to have an affecting, full life. Adopted just before the depression, her extended family, as my wife's mother said, was "dirt poor". Like a lot of women in the Cadet Nursing Corps, she had to drop out when she married.

She and her late husband Jim, defined what fundamentalist Christians were for me. Strong (maybe rigid) in their beliefs, they were open, generous, thoughtful, hospitable people; freely giving to others in need. Not educated (college) due to their poverty, they were still well read and literate.