For Lent - Embrace

This post was written by my friend, Tara. I want to share it with you:

I recently read a blog that recounted the story of a woman going to visit a friend of hers that had recently lost her 21 month old baby.  She didn’t know what to say – she said, “I was at a loss of words because of her loss.”  She was astounded to realize that when she saw her friend that it was her words that brought her comfort.  Her friend, the one that just lost her precious baby, brought words of comfort to the author.  These were the words.

You know, you’re a mom.

These words came as she was recounting the story of the hours that surrounded the death of her daughter and unable to express her feelings, looked at her friend and said,

You know, you’re a mom.

And suddenly she knew.  She didn’t know what it was like to lose a child, but she knew the joy her friend felt when holding that precious baby and so she could imagine what it must have been like to have that taken away.

She knew, she was a mom.

These words have come back to me over and over since I read it.  I was at my son’s football game a few weeks ago and there were 2 boys racing on the bleachers.  Of course we parents that were watching knew it was going to end badly, and it did.  In an effort to jump one of the benches the boy that was in the lead tripped and tumbled over the bench and fell awkwardly onto the cement.  He immediately started to cry and a woman that was nearby jumped up to help him.  His parents rushed over and carried their crying, skinned kneed boy back to their seats.  And I thought,

I know, I’m a mom.

A friend of mine posted on Facebook that her dog of many years passed away.  She posted pictures of the cute little pup from his puppy years on up through his adult years.  And I thought,

I know, I’m a dog owner too.

A friend whispered in my ear before church one day, “I just found out that I have breast cancer and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”  Tears flooded my eyes and I thought,

I know, I’m a woman too.

When I hear of friends that are going through the pain of losing a parent.  I think,

I know, I’m a daughter too.

I see teachers having a tough day with their students.  Life circumstances have made their personal lives very difficult.  Their patience level is worn very thin so that by the time they get into the classroom they are not the greatest role models for their students.  And I think,

I know, I’m a teacher too.

I see a man and his wife outside a store playing an instrument and asking for money because they are out of work and have little to nothing.  I look at them and think,

I know, I’m human too.

We may not know the exact circumstances that people face, but we can empathize because at the very core of who we are, we have the ability to understand because we are human too.  Despite our socio-economic or ethnic or gender differences,

We know, we’re human too.

During the Lenten season, people generally give up something to remind them of the sacrifice that Jesus made for them.  But, I want to embrace something.  I want to embrace my humanness and be able to look at the other human beings I see, other children of God, and be able to say,

I know, I’m human too.

Have a good day fellow human

More about our guest post contributor: Tara is a creative writer, actor, leader of children's church, and wife and mother to two awesome kids. She also loves the family dog, a young chocolate lab. She lives in Southern California where she cooks amazing recipes and practices ballet. She is my fun and caring friend.


Happy Easter, everyone -- especially us humans!