God yearns to hug me in love; other masters seek to snag me in exploitation. Thus God’s directives while demanding are liberating, while other masters under the pretense of pleasure are enslaving.
Yesterday I found myself in the emergency room at St. Anthony’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL. I had excruciating pain in the vicinity of my left kidney. Of course I received excellent care at the facility including a complete blood panel analysis as well as a CAT scan of my back, pelvis and abdominal areas.
I was especially struck while in the emergency waiting room by the importance of family and other caregivers. Connie was with me. Several complete strangers (also patients) were unspeakably kind to us. Two young women came in and sprinkled greeting cards on the floor. They were individuals, not a part of an organization. In each card individually signed was a lovely handwritten statement that we are each special. Each included a five dollar gift card. In our various states of pain, fatigue, and disarray, we were definitely not the beautiful people; we were not the jet set. We were just plain folks (not looking our best) and the ties of family and friends and kind strangers were priceless and yielded great consolation. I saw the liberating stability of love and kindness during a time of upheaval. Humans thrive best in hands of love, not snagged in greedy webs of exploitation.
