"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ..."

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain; for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21, 4.

    Very consoling words from the Christian Scriptures' Book of Revelations. A few weeks ago I was listening to the radio in which the announcer tells the story of 70 year old Japanese gardener, Itam Sasaki who installed a phone booth with a simple disconnected rotary phone in his garden. Here are the images. He wished to speak to his cousin who had died before the tsunami and earthquake of 2011. It was his way of coping with his loss. His garden overlooks the Pacific ocean on a hill in the town of Otsuchi. The atmosphere: the winds, the sea, the inspiring garden lend to the beauty of his wind-phone (his kaze nodenwa). It is not magical; but, its connection to nature helps in ways only a God can touch. 

   The idea of keeping up with a deceased relative is not a strange thing for me as a Christian. My mother visited the graves of her parents on a regular basis and in this unlikely manner, introduced us to them. She often talked softly about mundane topics reassuring her deceased parents that she was trying hard to be a good mother of 5 boys and telling them not to worry about her. She prayed for comfort and in turn, introduced us to a lifeafterlife. When I heard the story of this simple disconnected rotary phone; I could not help but think of her. Over the decades of my life, she kept up this tradition and hoped that I, her eldest son, would not forget our ancestors or as Africans describe the living dead. 

   After the horrible tsunami in Japan, people in the neighborhood heard about this wind phone and many came to speak to their deceased relatives. In the course of 3 years, over 10,000 persons descended upon this sacred spot. It served a tremendous service to many in grief. Our belief systems take us to many ideas of lifeafterlife and we all want connections. I love this modern twist talking to deceased relatives. I am sure my mother would have brought us here to talk to our grandparents if such had existed in her time.

   May we never forget our loved ones and be inspired by those who cope with death in their own unique way! Peace.