Closing a Chapter

 On Friday, the USS JOHN FINN had their official ship’s memorial for QM2 Thomas O’Connor.

I had thought that the wound on my heart, created by the pain of his shipmates and family would not open back up again.

But, as QM1 spoke, my realized I felt something dripping down between my face and my facemask.

I took a second to realize I was crying.

 May his memory strengthen others to live as he lived.

INVOCATION

 

Let us pray.

 

For the last five months, we have mourned the loss of QM2 O’Connor individually, and internally.

We had moments where we turned around, thinking we heard his voice, or expected him to walk through the door.

 We thought of something funny and he was the first person we wanted to share it with.

We stopped watching a specific movie he loved, because it just did not feel right watching it without him.

We experienced life, and it sometimes felt dull, because we knew that Tom would have made each moment vibrant.

Creator of the soul,

Today we come to mourn our loss of Tom together. We ask that You witness the love we had for one of our people, whom You endowed with so much goodness and joy of life, that he could barely contain it in his skin.

We pray that You be present for each of us as we need, bringing comfort to us all during this ceremony, as our hearts take their first steps in healing. 

Amen.

 

BENEDICTION

Let us pray.

Source of Wonder,

Together, we laid bare the scars on our hearts and souls created by Tom’s absence.

And, just as he would have wanted it, we came together as a community to begin to heal, and use his life as a way to inspire us to greatness.

He taught us to love life fiercely, 100% of the time.

He showed us that…

…We can be more than we realize.

… Failure is merely a jumping off point for greater successes.

… Blood is not the only way to define family.

… Never miss an opportunity to show the people you love  - - how much you love them. 

 

May his memory encourage us to celebrate every aspect of life’s journey  - with every zig and zag.  And whenever possible, bring others along for the ride.

 

God, give us the strength to live like Tom.

 

Amen.