Sunday Morning Serenity

"I feel your pain." We say that kind of thing all the time—or I do, anyway—often when I'm kidding around with friends or family. But we really do feel the pain of people we care about. We can even feel the pain of people we don't know all that well just by imagining what it would be like to face what they're facing. In the past couple of weeks, I've seen people in my own circle cope with difficult news from doctors—but I also saw one friend surprised and relieved to get very good news. A hundred years ago, when I was a teenager, our youth choir used to sing this song—I think it was called "Would You"—and I can't remember the words, but there was one line that went something like "would you cherish loving arms if you'd never been alone." The gist of the song was this: Would you value the good without the bad? Would you know how to reach out to other people if you'd never needed someone to be there for you? Knowing that difficult times can shape us for the better isn't terribly comforting when we're going through them. We just want the bad times to end, the pain to go away. And then we want to put it behind us. But maybe we're meant to store away glimmers of those memories, little bits of our darker days, so we'll know how to shine a light for people in need who cross our path.

Comments

[Beverly]

Val I love your stories so much. Call me and we will go for lunch.Love you,

[valerieluesse]

I'm so glad, Bev! Can't wait to get together. I'll check my dance card and give you a call! Love you.

[candace hicks]

I love this one TOO ;)
Hugs cuz:)

[valerieluesse]

Why, a big hug right back atchya!

[Christy Coleman]

Valerie, I was just talking to my kiddos about this a couple of nights ago. I love your stories!

[valerieluesse]

Thanks so much!