The Spirit of God is There When Someone Dies
From Stories About God by Mary Ann Moore

Many years ago a baby was born and as that baby began to breathe for the first time, the spirit of God was in the baby's breathing.

The baby nursed and slept and opened her eyes and nursed and slept some more and as time went by the baby could do more things. The baby learned to sit up and to crawl and soon the baby learned to walk. Now she could go all over, exploring everything. And the spirit of God was in her exploring.

Soon the baby was a girl who could run and talk and pedal a bike. And the little girl became a bigger girl who went to school and leanred to read and write and do arithmetic. And she could swim and ride a bicycle and row a boat. And she could play a piano. And she could make all kinds of things: bird houses, cookies, and gardens. And the spirit of God was in her learning.

Before long the girl was a youth who went to high school. She Iearned to drive. She began to think about what she would be when she was all grown up and she could decide more things for herself. And the spirit of God was in her deciding.

Now the girl became a woman. She found work to do and she found people she loved and she had her own home. One day she became a mother and had children of her own. She cared for her children, played with them, and taught them lots of things. And she worked to help make the world a better place for all people. And the spirit of God was in her loving.

Time went by and this woman grew older. Her children grew up and they had children and the woman became a grandmother. The time came when she retired from her work. She had more time to do the things she liked to do for fun, like playing with her grandchildren. And the spirit of God was in her playing.

This grandmother grew older and older until she was a very old woman. Some of her grandchildren even had children and she became a great-grandmother. Now she tired more easily and she moved more slowly. She couldn't see or hear things as easily as before. And the spirit of God was with her in her aging.

And then this very old woman's body became very tired and her family knew she was dying. As they went to visit her they did whatever they could to make her more comfortable, they talked with her about all the wonderful things they remembered doing with her, and they shared their sadness at the thought of losing her. And some of the time the very old woman was sad that she was dying and some of the time she was glad. And the spirit of God was with her in her dying.

And then the very old woman's breathing became slower and slower and her breath became softer and softer and then she breathed her last breath out and she died. And the spirit of God was with her.

Later her friends and relatives came together and they shared their sadness and they talked with each other about the things she had said and done in her life. And the spirit of God was in their remembering.