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I don’t know many people in my little country town, but I know that Sharron is everyone’s right hand person.
She cares for countless horses and maintains their stalls. She feeds dogs and cats and chickens when their owners are away. She takes care of the llamas and the sheep behind the Inn. She takes care of her large family.
And she takes care of me.
Yesterday, I set out on a walk at dusk; my tired, achy body and soul moving slowly under the weight of Sissy’s memorial service over the weekend.
Her pickup truck slowed to a stop when she saw me on Hunters Road and I leaned in, relaxed by her easy presence. From under her baseball cap, her brown eyes inspected my face. There was no hiding.
“Just got back from my aunt’s memorial service, Sharron. I’m spent.”
She reached out and held the hand that rested on her window.
“I’m so sorry about your aunt,” she said with such love that tears welled up in my eyes.
She told me about her friend Margaret’s funeral last weekend, how her kids spoke about their mother.
The finality of death hung in the air between us like a third person, an eavesdropper in the conversation. We were silent for a moment, we three.
Then she told me I needed to be careful walking, there were wolves spotted at the next farm. Rummaging around on the seat, she pulled out a whistle and tucked it into my palm.
In five minutes, in the middle of the road, Sharron had taken care of my body and soul.
When I got back to my driveway, I stood still in the dark by the road and just listened.
Under the half moon, the birds cheeped their good nights from tree to tree; the horses quietly enjoyed a hay dinner; the frogs emerged around the pond; and I took my first deep breath in days.
The world had righted itself.
Love cracked open my heart and diluted the dark with her light.
In the presence of simple, drive-by love, gravity released me into the welcoming arms of an unspoken "I'm here with you in this moment."
This -- I thought -- is the feeling of being lifted up by love.
In The World:
Today, in simple and easy ways, may we be the love that lifts up someone else. May we, too, be lifted, knowing that our love has changed another for the better.
In The Heart:
From my deep well of love, I share freely with others, lifting them up through small acts of kindness and compassion.
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls, to arrive at its destination full of hope. —Maya Angelou
My driveway