Tears, the Sun, a Smile

This morning as I read this beautiful article Anj wrote it prompted me to share a piece of yesterday morning.

I continue my exploration of coffee shops along this stretch of West Coast that is my community. Just-A-Cuppa was one I hadn’t tried. The sun was shining on its verandah and this had me accepting the invitation to stop. Books, journals, and pens in hand I ordered my Soya Latte and went out into the sunshine. A little bistro table tucked away in the corner received the most sunshine so it was just the right place to spread my books out, put my feet up on the other green plastic garden chair and begin my work.

Working through The Wounded Heart workbook has not been easy and for the last 2 weeks I have been stuck on one particular chapter. A conversation with a family member this week was painful but it unlocked the door to completing the work I needed to do. It isn’t an easy journey but what I love as I travel this road with a friend, is learning it isn’t about keeping the schedule but rather about allowing the Process to be the guide, allowing Ruach to be the guide into deeply wounded areas of the soul. The Ruach/Wind moves at the will of the Almighty and one never knows how or when it will come. You know They are there because Their presence touches you – just like the wind.

Tears came, as the answers to questions prompted by the Workbook were revealed. Tears for what was lost, for lies believed and for the wonder of Truth that now is being unveiled. Tears that this time I didn’t stop but rather let flow, turned my face into the sun and allowed them to be dried by the wind that gently caressed my face, my body, and my heart.

At the other end of the verandah sat a former neighbour. She walks with an uneven gait that perhaps is a by-product of her illness. Her belly is swollen, hugely swollen, with the liver disease that cannot be cured and slowly takes her life. She too had come to sit in the sunshine and sip her beverage. She watched – I felt her watching, knew she was watching my tears. A bite of her sandwich, a sip of her drink, inhaling as she lit another cigarette, and then again she would look over at me – what was she thinking? As I observed her, in between writing, reading, and turning my tears to the sun, there was a softening to her gaze. This gentling in her eyes was like a tender touch to my heart and we looked directly at each other more often. When I was finished I packed away all my paraphernalia and slowly walked along the street. As I passed her she smiled again, looking directly into my eyes and said, take care.

Thank You Abba for the tenderness of every detail that connected through the tears, the sun and a smile. Thank You for bringing them together through the Ruach – the wind of Your presence. Coffee shops are becoming sacred space where You show up on the wind of Your own timing.