It’s not a sisterhood that any of us want to belong to. Yet it is a sense of bonding that happens. I’ve found this to be especially true when you know the person. I had a deeply moving episode this last Sunday.
We lost a valuable member of our Sunday School class on Memorial Day. He and his wife were out for a hike. He fell and hit his head and passed away by 6 pm that evening. All I could think is that I wanted to give his wife, my friend, a big hug. I kept thinking about sending a card, but I just wanted to hug her.
I didn’t even think about whether or not I would see her in Sunday School. So when I spied someone else hugging her, the tears were in my eyes and my breath was caught in my throat. The sadness at her loss was strong and I couldn’t keep it in. Her eyes connected with mine and she could see the sorrow in them and was in tears herself. It was as if the unspoken words “I know the journey you’re just beginning” were known to her and her eyes said back to me “I now fully understand the journey you’ve been on this past year.”
I gave her that big hug as we cried into each other’s shoulder for a few seconds. I suggested we do dinner and cry together because it helps. Then we parted as I told her I loved her. Sunday School would begin shortly, and of course there were others that wanted to greet her. I grabbed a napkin and wiped my tears.
They wanted me to pray for our requests that day but I had to say “not this time, I will cry again as we pray for her and I might not recover.” I probably would, but you know how that goes…. who knows how many would be crying if the person praying breaks down. Not that it would be a bad thing, but we did have a lesson to get to. Lord willing there will be another time for me to pray.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3 NIV
Father, help me to lean into Your binding of my wounds, to give you my pain that comes with a broken heat. Help us all to learn the lesson of being your hands and feet. Whether it is giving of money or a simple hug, may we understand its importance. And may we realize that we gain more than we give, even with a simple hug, or a look into the eyes of another beloved child of yours.
Grace Under Pressure 