John once did a wedding for a woman who was getting married for the first time in her forties. It was a joyful day, with many people traveling to celebrate. I gave them a quilt with rows of tulips surrounded by four bright borders. The reception was a gala event with food and dancing. She loves dancing. 

But no one could predict that her husband would be sideswiped by a diagnosis of cancer in less than a year, and be gone before two. It seemed so unfair, to wait longer than usual, and then to have her partner ripped from her. A disproportionate amount of their life together involved palliative care. Privacy was sacrificed to the revolving appearance of nurses and technicians. While she is a calm person, I was astonished to never hear her rage against God for what may have felt like a mammoth rip off. 

If this life were the main event, such tragedies would be even more heartbreaking than they already are. But earthly existence is a dress rehearsal for eternity. There will be no inequities when we wake up like Dorothy to a full color world, more beautiful than the drab black and white of this one. In this lumbering body, what we love is hindered by arthritis, and distractions, fears and defensiveness. But after death all of that peels away like the shell of a newborn chick, and we are more free than we could have imagined.