I was having a hard time sleeping last night. As I flipped through my Aunt Lillian's prayer book I came across these words: "Leave it all quietly to God, my soul, my rescue comes from him alone." -Psalm 62: 1, 2

We're approaching the third anniversary of my sister's death. No matter how you slice it, the timing, the awakening of spring brings me back to the day. Today, I thought of a conversation I had with a friend a week or so after the funeral. "Makes you doubt your faith doesn't it, when something like this happens," he said.

"No, I think it's the opposite," I said, and I meant it. When the unexplainable happens, faith holds the only answer.

I saw deer couple I had seen this fall in our yard a week or so ago. I saw them walking through the snow, still together, looking well and I said, "Thank You! Thank You! They made it through the winter!" I feel the same way about myself.

Sabra is a writer and editor at . 'Making It Through Winter' is featured with permission of . Copyright 2011 by Guideposts, Carmel, New York 10512. All rights reserved.

What Remains

Please sit with me here,
in the dark and the cold,
and help me remember.

Help me remember the natural peace
her presence gave.
Help me remember the grace of her heart,
the generosity of her spirit,
the sincerity of her kindness.
Help me remember all the ways
You touched the world through her.

Tonight I do not ask You to stop the ache,
only to hold me while I feel it,
knowing that the ache tells
of a life well-spent.

And when at last the darkness submits to light,
and I find my feet again,
remind me to still remember,
that the love she so freely shared
may find a second life in me.

"Have you had a long winter?
What do you look forward to this spring?"