Words, even images are powerful. Seeing something in person, opening one’s self to the collection of all the senses that make up a memory, is so much more! When you experience something first hand, close and personal, the words and images take on more than one could have ever imagined.
Recently a friend reached out with an embrace, a word, and a request. The combination was the perfect answer to darkness I was wrestling with. It was as if he had heard and answered psalmist call; “Hallelujah! You who serve God, praise God! Just to speak his name is praise!” (Psalm 113.1)
The simplicity of the action and the natural, innocent and heart felt experience that followed reminded me that best answers are never complex. We may not understand why simplicity works, but one can feel it and know with certainty when one is touched.
The unconditional nature of the expression was a candid rebuttal to the assumption that every action has a quid pro quo. The premise that each action is the first step of substituting one for another is centuries old. At this point, I often find a natural expectation that exists before I understand my intent.
There is so much more in the tangible. We can talk about things, even using images and sounds to describe them. When it becomes real, involving touch, smell, and emotions, whatever it is takes on greater meaning! It is as if we are on a journey from the possible to the real, from the hypothetical to the memory being made by two or more.
Words are important, they are a beginning. Anticipation teases our souls, creating an awareness of Hope and all that is possible. Giving birth to Hope involves doing something. The outcome, especially when it was an answer to an unspoken need, changed everything. I love this God of hope, compassion, and caring. I want to give Her away, without conditions or expectations, to all I meet. It is the least I can do in response to what She and He has done for me.
