I was greatly humbled when a stranger came up to me in church to say that they appreciate all the beautiful images I have shared in the Sonshine reflections. Rarely, do I hear a comment about a story or photo, but my purpose is simply to open your hearts to the beauty that God surrounds us each day. One of those magical moments is the ordinary people who cross our path in our worse moments to give us strength and courage.Once upon a time, there was this forty-six-year-old, divorced woman, with three grown children. After several months of chemotherapy following a mastectomy for breast cancer, she was starting to put her life back together when her doctor called with the results of her last checkup. They had found more cancer, and she was devastated. Her relatives had not been supportive. She was the first person in the family to have cancer and they didn’t know how to behave toward her. They tried to be kind, but she had the feeling they were afraid it was contagious. They called on the phone to see how she was doing, but they kept their distance. That really hurt.
On Saturday, she headed out for the laundromat. You see the same people there almost every week. They exchange greetings and made small talk. So when she pulled into the parking lot, she was determined not to look depressed but her spirits were really low. While taking her laundry out of the car, she look up and saw a man, one of the regulars, leaving with his bundle. He smiled and said, “Good morning. How are you today?” Suddenly she lost control of herself and blurted out. “This is the worst day of my life! I have more cancer.” Then she began to cry. He put his arms around her and just let her sob. Then he said, I understand. My wife has been through it, too. After a few minutes she felt better. stammered out her thanks, and proceeded on with her laundry.
About fifteen minutes; later, here he comes back with his wife. Without saying a word, she walked over and hugged her. I know what you’re going through. This woman can’t tell you how much that kindness meant to her. Here was this total stranger, taking her time to give this woman emotional support and courage to face the future at a time when she was ready to give up.
The two great commandments have their challenges: “You shall love your God with everything you got” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
What is a saint? When we ‘re ready to give up when you hear the news: “Your cancer has come back, you haven’t found a job since January, your soldier has been killed in action, your child died in an auto accident due to drugs, your child was sentenced to eight years in jail, your best friend left you for whatever.”
Just how does any saintly soul manage these miserable moments, these insane happenings that have no purpose, no sense of love and more profoundly how are we suppose to love God and our dumb, stupid relatives who don’t know how to talk to us.
A saint learns with lots of practice that while on this earth, we are put to the trial, we must give triple thanks to the Almighty: first for giving us the strength to endure the trial, second for bringing the trial to an end, and third for the trial itself. For suffering contains the secret of creation and its dimension of eternity; it can be pierced only from the inside. Suffering betters some people and transfigures others. At the end of suffering, of mystery, God awaits us...
God’s prays for us as we reflect upon our suffering: “God does notice our miserable moments and listens to our cries for help.” (Psalm 22:24).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who feel under the weather to remember an old Persian proverb: I sought my God, My God I could not see. I sought my soul, My soul eluded me. I sought my neighbor and I found all three.
