Although we can't make everything okay, we can show up and show love in the middle of whatever's going on. How have the people in your life been there for you when you needed them? Is there anyone who's going through a difficult time that you need to reach out to?
My Aunt Karen is one of the
sweetest, most genuine women. The kind who would truly give you the shirt off
her back. She wears her heart on her sleeve and finds humor in just about
anything. She is stern when she needs to be but knows how to have fun. Our
shared Pacific Islander decent makes her that much more interesting, as some
Pigeon slips in her speech from her years spent on the island, giving her a bit
of an accent and conversations a sense of heritage and richness.
When my world crumbled and my
parents parted ways as the divorce papers were signed, her doors were always
open.
My younger sister, Carrie, and I found
refuge in her home after school, hanging out with our cousins watching
countless episodes of Maury. We spent more nights than I can calculate sleeping
over while our address was to be established.
She had food on the stove or in
the cupboard or in the fridge and it was almost a sin not to accept something,
as she repeatedly told us to eat something. Fresh rice could be found on the
counter to go along with practically every food group.
Then there was Kristina's. Her
parents were about to embark on the same journey as mine, though neither of us
knew as I spent a few nights sleeping awkwardly on her floor and eating her mom's
chicken adobo.
There was also Josh's mom,
Debbie. She was short in height but immense in hospitality and personality. She
was not afraid to be herself and took us as the mess we were. After my aunt
moved to South Carolina, she opened her doors to us. Always understanding and
sharing stories of when she was younger. Stories with the use of the word harlot and giving
us a semi description of the new to us word, which we added to our vocabulary. Josh
stirred Kool Aid in the kitchen, as music videos played on the television in
the living room. We hung out after school when it rained and during school
breaks and at the park nearby.
And of course there was Senia's
home. Always open to whomever wandered in, with room on the couch and food to
sooth the soul. We shared lays potato chips topped with lemon juice and
tapatio. We ate her dad's homemade refried beans and chile rellenos and rice.
The awareness of needing people
was never in my mind at the time but people were always there, meeting needs I
never knew existed and filling voids that needed filling, never trying to fix
the problem or find a solution but simply being there. They were a landing spot
and a place to go and a little anchor in the uncharted waters we were wading
through. Sometimes when we need the help the most, we have no idea what we need
and have no words to articulate the growing demands of our circumstances as we
dance and twirl through them.
And then God places people,
people who meet the needs before we have time to see them. People who have eyes
to see it and hearts to carry out the love needed to gently guide us towards shore, after our world bottoms out
and there is nothing to fall back on or no normal for reference or rhythm to
make. They can see it and they help as best as they know how.
Here's to people and meeting needs.
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This is part of a 365 day blogging series through Savor by Shauna Niequist. If you would like to blog along, whether daily or weekly, I would love to have you for the journey; be sure to link back to the post. And if you are not a blogger, you can join along, too. Just leave your response and answers in the comments.