Someone Who Loves You

I've always been an active person, so when my get up and go just got up and went, I f ound myself in a very precarious position.  I mean, I have a family to take care of, mouths to feed, laundry to do, all sorts of daily tasks tht sudenly became increasingly difficult to do.  So I was very put off.  I thought, "Ok, so you needed a rest, everyone knows that, but you can handle it for a couple months."

A couple of months turned into 3, then 4, and now 5.  So I'm trying to concentrate on the positive.  My son is so sweet that every evening before he goes to bed, he comes into my room and lays down with me for a few minutes.  That is truly one of the highlights of my day, to see my son so caring and gentle.  It means we are doing something right.

That doesn't mean to say that all I am able to do every day is just stay in bed.  I have some days in which I can move rather well; I just can't overdo it.  But I will confess there are days like yesterday in which I am in bed for all but 3 hours.  It does tend to put a damper on things.  But on those days, my children come into my room and just talk or play gently.  I have to laugh because sometimes my bed is just too tempting for the wee ones and they have to jump a bit before I have to calm them by giving them the choice to sit with me and play gently on the bed or get down before they get bouncy again.

My dearly beloved husband is also very sweet with me.  He knows the days that I just can't master the stairs and follows me up so that if I lose my balance he is there to catch me.  That is so wonderful to realize...to know that I have someone who will always be there to catch me if I start to fall.  He warns me if he thinks I am doing too much.  He sees it in my eyes, in my walk, or in my movements.  He knows me well enough to be able to read me often.

Sometimes he will gently say to slow down or to not pick up that item.  If I ignore ihm and do it anyway, he is loving and avoids the "I told you so" comment.  Instead, he just takes it away and leads me to a chair or lets me just stand there while he finishes what I started with good intentions, but was unable to complete.  He picks up my burden and walks with it.  Many days it makes me feel embarrased for not having listened to him in the first place.  But if I'm in a jovial enough mood, I will joke with him saying, "I know, you told me so."  But the most amazing thing happens every time I say that.  He just smiles at me and, with a sincere face, says, "I wasn't going to say anything, love."

Then, this morning, it hit me, like a neon sign or a brick wall.  We are all like me.  We all have things that we need to do, that we must do, that have to get done, but for some reason, are uncapable of doing them on our own.  We all need that special someone in our lives that can help us remember when we need help.  We all need someone who will take the burden from us, gently, not begrudgingly, but with selfless love, with nary a word of, "I told you so," but rather, "I love you and want the best for you.  I want to help you with that which you cannot do on your own."  We all need someone we can trust to stand by us through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Even in the Garden of Eden, where everything was beautiful, perfect, without spot or blemish, Adam could not make it on his own.  He needed Eve to complete him.  But it's not just about him needing her, it's about them needing each other and the perfect one who created them.  Then that serpent had to go and ruin it all.  But even in their punishment, there was no "I told you so." There was only sadness with them through the trials and a voice that said, "One day..." Even then there was the hope and help offered.

Just now my son came in and offered me a blanket to keep me warm.  He covered me up in it and then we shared a breakfast bar together.  He told me I'd get better soon.  He's just a little boy, dismissed by many as the least of these, but full of so much gentleness, life and joy!  Faith, hope, and charity. but the greatest of these.