I was out for an early morning walk on one of the coldest mornings of October so far this year… out alone and welcoming the new day. I use my walking time to quietly pray, focus on what life events and challenges I have and listen for the peace that comes from these quiet times of prayer. My husband has been committed to training for his third marathon in just a few days. I had run one with him ten years ago but couldn’t find the desire or drive to train again. Still, with the approach of his event and the inspiration that tends to tap the shoulders of those who have been runners I decided to speed up my gait and give my legs a try. I took a different route so that it would be more level and easier to get the miles in. I ran… and I prayed for strength, for those I love, for those who have asked for prayer and for the world. My focus was on the path ahead or the barely-starting-to-turn fall leaves. Once I hit the 3 mile mark it was time to head back. This path is an out and back so I would return the exact same way I had run out. A few blocks on my return something caught my eye – just out of the corner as I passed some bushes. You already know it was the quilted heart. I stopped and almost took off again without paying much attention but something inside encouraged me to look more closely. That’s when I read the little note attached, encouraging me to take the quilted heart home. I lifted it off the limb and resumed my run home. I was very aware of the fact that this different path, and my return on the same way I had come out, were two things that needed to happen in order for this heart to land in my hands. As I carried the heart in my hand I was also acutely aware that I am not alone in this world regardless of how alone I may feel. My pain and struggles are not isolated, unique or vengefully assigned to me from some unseen universal curse. I thought of my father who will probably never visit a dentist again – which is something on my routine to do list this week. I thought of my dear friend who lost her son so brutally and unexpectedly only a few weeks ago. I thought of the mundane things that can drive me crazy but how lost I feel without those very things taking place in a reliable way. I thought of the sweet days when our daughters were little and we got to see them and touch them every single day. And I knew, because of the promise of love that someone had offered through this little quilted heart, that there is never a reason to doubt the expression of grace and kindness from humanity. Finding a quilted heart gave me the literal act of holding out my heart to the people I encounter in order to give them some expression of grace and kindness, too. It refreshed a sense of hope for the future – both for my own life and for the entire world. Thank you for the simple act of making us feel seen.
