Pieces

Today we lost Dolly Parton.

And today, I like to imagine her voice joining the great cloud of witnesses… still singing, still shining, still reminding us to make something joyful of the lives we’ve been given.

In the midst of all the tributes today, I came across these words of hers…

"We're all just pieces of each other. We're all the same. We all feel the same things: We all laugh, we all cry, we all bleed, we all suffer, we all have heartaches. Just feel for people. That comes from a loving heart. God is love. And that’s really the only definition that we have. Love can work miracles if people allow it. It’s about caring enough to love somebody, to lift somebody up. People should do more of that. It’s not so hard to be good."

-Dolly Parton

We are all just pieces of each other.

That is a theology of sacred connection. That is Dolly preaching the Good News that we are never alone… that resurrection is available in our next encounter… that God is the gravity pulling us toward one another.

St. Dolly will be remembered for many things: authenticity, joy, strength, generosity, and faith.

May we honor her by making joyful music with our lives.

May we live our lives always remembering… we are all just pieces of each other.