A dear friend of mine traveled to England in the fall. She knows what an anglophile I am, and when she returned home she sent me an email with a photo attached. I downloaded the attachment with great anticipation. I assumed it would be a picture of Westminster Abbey or some other particular cathedral or castle that I love - or perhaps the home of one of my favorite authors. The following picture was what I opened:
WHAT?!
When I first opened it I was shocked - no castle? no cathedral? not even a hedgerow? A car?! Then I looked more closely. Clearly she is reading my posts and knows how special the Azores are to me! It's such a cool thing to have friends who really know you and pick up on it when something is special to you, even when they are not with you - even something as obscure as a taxi in England with advertising for the Azores on it!
I was touched.
This surprise of a picture brought to mind two more serious things that have touched me very deeply this year. One of these is that while this friend was in England, she lit a candle for me in Westminster Abbey and prayed for me, remembering a burden I've long carried. Another dear friend visited Israel last year and wrote my name on a slip of paper and put it in the wailing wall also with a prayer for full freedom for me.
Both have made me feel my burden lessened by their care and carrying it with me and bringing it before God for me in very special ways.
I'm using a lot of words, but these actions have touched my soul beyond the ability of my words to express.
As these have come to mind, I have a strong sense of wanting to "pay it forward." I want to take what they have done for me and pass it on by doing the same for others. I want to remember those in my life who are carrying burdens of any kind, to think of them, and to remember them before God, and, in so doing, to help them carry their burden.
If you are someone I know of who is carrying a burden, know that I am thinking of you in this way and remembering you before God in my prayers.
If you feel so lead, I'd like to ask you to consider "paying it forward" for others too. What a precious thing we can do for each other!
1 comment:
This post made me tear up a litte...it is so very true that knowing that someone else truly cares and is praying for you does lessen the burden somehow.
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