from the flickr photostream of kh2rac

I was beside myself with sadness and disappointment on Friday afternoon.  After a conversation that left my head spinning, I felt like I might become physically ill.  This is not a common response for me.  I can name two other times I felt this way, and they both involved instances of people being deceitful or unjust.  Once, I had to pull my car over to throw up - an unexpected and involuntary response to some very unfair news I heard over the phone.  And though I did not throw up on Friday afternoon, I was emotionally untethered.  Neither by myself nor in conversation with Herb could I seem to regulate my thoughts or my racing heart.  I nearly called my fried Sarah to cancel the plans I had to drop in for a long overdue visit and time of catching up.

Instead, I drove myself, shaking, to her home, practicing in my head how I could most concisely and accurately let her know what was going on with me.  From the moment I sat down in her sun drenched kitchen, my heart rate began to slow.  Before I even arrived or told her that I was having a very hard day, she poured me a beautiful drink - apple juice layered with sparkling water.  As I eyed the amber colored fizzing glass, I knew I had made the right choice to keep my plans to visit my dear friend.  At home I drink water.  Sometimes I make a pitcher of water filled with sliced strawberries and lemons.  But I have never layered apple juice and sparkling water.  She had something I didn’t have.  Something I needed.

As she talked, I looked into her dark kind eyes and listened.  I let her soothing voice slow my racing heart.  As she spoke, my pieces and parts that felt like they were all coming apart slowly began to find one another again.  My stomach went back to its place, leaving my heart alone to do its work of beating and thumping at a steady pace.  As the sun shown through her windows, I felt more and more alive.

Her words gave me perspective.  And options.  They helped me think about how I wanted to handle the situation presented before me.  But it was more than her words.  It was the soft music playing.  The drink.  The gluten-free crackers lovingly spread with dairy free “cream cheese”.  It was the culmination of Sarah doing life in a way that reflects her gentleness and her depth.  She was not just loving me in the moment, she was living out of love.  She makes choices in how she lives, daily that create an environment that nurtures, supports, and empowers.  By cultivating these gifts, she is not just being true to herself, but also loving those who may cross her path in the future while they are in a time of need.

Where did you see love working this week?