Touch

Touch changes you.  I was reminded of just how intensely a simple touch can reach your soul when a friend told me to focus my meditation on a particular point on my chest.  He reached out with two fingers and pressed his instruction home.  The intensity of that moment is still with me.  If I shut my eyes, that touch merges with embraces of concern, affection, and love.  I know that I will never be alone.  The presence of others came through that touch as an integral part of what it feels to be alive.  I know that I am different for that moment in time.
I am not the first to experience the miracle that occurs when people touch our lives, physically and metaphorically.  Tabitha “opened her eyes.  When she saw Peter, she sat up.  He took her hand and helped her up.”  (Acts 9.40)  With Peter's touch, she held a new opportunity to step forward.  Peter opened a gateway, but what happened next was a gift he left with her.
It is the same in your life and mine.  God touches us a many different ways.  Usually it is in the ordinary events of life that I often ignore.  As I let myself slow down and experience the touch of that moment, I found myself in God's presence.  I could feel Compassion's embrace, Hope's intensity, and Mercy's connection.  Miracles are born in these moments.  Accepting God's invitation to become one always comes with this potential.
As I start a new days, I find myself strengthen in the face of the unknown.  I owe several a debt of gratitude that can only be paid as I touch the lives of others along my path.  It is an invitation that is always with us, to participate with Divinity in living.  I have no idea what will unfold today.  I do know that each gift of patience is priceless.  I understand that by dispensing compassion I am saying thank-you to everyone that continues to help me walk.  It is a wonderful way to start a day.