December 18, 2010

Greetings My Friend,

Lately my thoughts tend to take me toward “entering into another’s joy.” For me to enter into someone’s joys and sorrows is natural. I have a tendency to feel right along with people in general when they are going through life. I am finding out that not everyone enters into another’s joy or sorrow. There are moments where sharing life is a wonderful feeling and I want others to feel what I am feeling. The sorrows of life also feel good when someone steps beside you. I don’t feel alone, I have more courage to face the hour if someone is willing to walk down my path with me.

My book comes to mind. For me it took a lot of courage to write what I believe, to share it with complete strangers. I was willing to do the uncomfortable so that hopefully someone who feels no hope would find the hope that helps me face each day. In many ways, I put myself out there. I share my story from my perspective, at times in the past other’s have indicated that my story is not true, was in my head. So for me to share is a little scary. I also have those that want doors shut and don’t want to see what went on. Opening that door may mean they deal with things they don’t want to face.

Agape love comes to mind once more. Agape love has been such a wonderful thing to learn. That means I need to seek another’s highest good. For me Agape love means to enter into another’s life, the good, the bad and the ugly parts of life. I can’t do it with everyone or all the time. I do try to do it often. I need to discern the times and events to enter into. Abuse situations are hard for me to do at times. I feel at times when I should pull back and love with a little more distance.

I remember one time with my grandson. I was watching him at his house. I went over there and he wanted to play outside. I went with him and he wanted to play good guys and bad guys. Of course play guns were part of the game. I followed him around. It was precious he would hide and stick his head out cautiously to see if the bad guy was near. I could almost feel how real it felt to him. I had entered into his game. This gave me an opportunity to see what was important to him, to know him a little more. I had entered into his life so to speak.

I had a co-worker who found out she was pregnant just before I retired. She told me before anyone else in the department. That was precious to me. She had allowed me to know something so precious to her before word got out. For me, I got to watch out for her some, to share in her morning sickness moments. I also got to play Mom by giving her my wisdom, my advice. I had entered into her joy and loved it.

I had a friend who had breast cancer before I did. I prayed for her, I loved her from a distance at times. When I found I had breast cancer, I went to this friend and told her. She stepped beside me and we shared a bond not everyone understands. After she had breast cancer, she had uterine cancer. I remember her at church one day. I saw her going through the motions and I sensed she wasn’t fully entering into each conversation. She was holding back something. When her friends left to go sit down, I went to her and asked her if everything was ok. She asked me how I knew something was wrong. I told her I sensed it. She had another tumor, didn’t want to tell her husband because he was going to meet his son and was hoping for reconciliation. She wanted him focused on his son and not her at this moment. She was scared. I had entered into her fear. I called her the next day. I prayed for her. I entered into her fear and I tried to walk beside her for a time anyway. As her husband came to know, then I stepped back. I continued to love her, pray for her. This precious friend eventually died, that was hard. I loved her like she was my mother.

M and K, are friends that have been with me for decades now, we’ve stepped into each other’s lives and have shared, have laughed and have cried together. They hold me when I hurt. I hold them when they hurt. We step into and out of each other’s lives frequently. There is something very wonderful when we can share life, all aspects of life together. When my nephew died M and another friend came to help out with our children. They brought them home, bathed them, fed them and talked with them about all the sorrow we were going through as a family. They were willing to enter into my families sorrow. K when my Dad died brought me Junior mints at the funeral home. When my Mother died, my niece was there and coned the candy from me. It was precious. My friend knew that those candies were what comforted me in my pain and made sure I had some comfort. As I struggled with being divorced and my Ex was near, she held me, spoke soothingly to me. I have gotten through a lot of junk in life because these women have entered into my joy, my sorrow, my life.

Junior and I also enter into each other’s joy, sorrow, life in general. I hear this phrase from him frequently, “When I was a kid, no one believed in me.” At that moment I try my hardest to enter into his pain. He has felt the sting of rejection a whole lot for various reasons. I try hard to always be seen with him, to accept him warts and all. It is important to him that I will take him as he is. When I do this, he feels loved, wanted, believed in.

As I end this, I’d like to invite you to “enter into another’s life”. It is hard at times, no fun and at other times there is much joy in doing so.

May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.

Love
Janet