sharing

I sat down for a long overdue coffee visit recently with a dear, sweet friend of mine. When I say, "dear, sweet" I'm not throwing down meaningless words to fill a blog post. This woman is possibly the dearest, sweetest woman I've ever known, next to my mom and my grandma. I do believe we all possess the ability to express sweet light in the world, but few achieve the gift of lifting other's burdens with such grace as this individual.

It should have been no surprise to me then that the pained expression on her lovely face when she shared with me the sad news of her cancer diagnosis was due to her concern that I might be hurt by her disclosure. With everything to contend with, financial concerns, possible loss of employment, fears of personal mortality, her paramount worry was to spare others the potential grief her condition may cause.

For me, I felt no fear. I suspect that's due to my lack of intimate experience with cancer and the anguish left in it's wake. With the warm summer sun blanketing our back deck I sat across the shaded table from my cherished friend and witnessed her confession. In that moment I saw a beautiful soul sharing a personal challenge and felt her compassionate heart reach out to mine.

She said, "I am surrounded by loving friends and family, all praying for me. I'm doing fine. I'm already finding blessings in this situation and I can see that everything will be okay."

I pray that her burden of shielding others from her pain will ease as her self care progresses. I pray that she is lifted with love and tenderness and carried through this journey with the grace and kindness she bestows on all she encounters.