When our eyes met, we were only five feet from each other, so
I let out a big “I need a hug!”
She responded, “You do? Then let me hug you!” And in the
middle of the busy store entrance, we warmly embraced and
laughed. (Though we had taken a fitness walk only weeks
before, you might have thought we were long lost cousins who
hadn’t seen each other in years by how excited we were to see
each other!)
After we embraced, she followed up on my original request
and asked, “Why do you need a hug?”
“Oh,” I shrugged my shoulders and continued, “I was
feeling a bit down, but when I saw the sky, I really could sense
God trying to get my attention.”
She looked at the beautiful sky and sighed deeply.
“How are you?” I asked my friend, who has been through
one of the toughest ordeals a mother could ever experience.
And though time has minimized some of her pain, it has not
extinguished it. It never will.
As Cindy began to share the specific details of her day,
which had forced her, as small things often do, to relive her
pain and remember how deeply she hurts inside, her lips
trembled and her voice crackled and tears slipped from her
eyes.
I began to cry spontaneously.
In that moment, we were oblivious to the passing customers.
It was as if God had allowed me to hear His voice tell me that
He is ever-present in our saddest moments—just in time to
“tune in” to my dear friend’s very real, always lingering
sadness.