We grieve the loss of loved ones, but today I wonder about the grief created by the loss of place. Not a home, but a work space where people  evolved into a community of supportive colleagues, caring for each other as they went about their assigned task: to heal.

I walked through the once-bustling work space today; the last three employees stood around a work station, the overhead lights now dim, the equipment inventoried and ready for re-location. The employees left. I lingered. I opened the doors along the corridor, remembering how people had struggled, worked, cared, consulted, prayed, encouraged, diagnosed, healed. How most patients returned to their lives while some did not.

Our loss is of a healing community, once united and focused on their shared work, in this unique space, those people are  now dispersed to new lives. As my footsteps echoed in the hallway, I stopped to hear the silence, to remember the years of compassionate care, to offer one moment of thanksgiving for this sacred ground - its future unknown.   

Have you ever felt grief from the loss of a place?

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