“Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness.” ~ Richard Bach
I am blessed with amazing friends. This year has been as much about celebrating them as it has been about toasting to my 50th year of life. This cute little head wrap is a gift from my friends, Glenice and James who I saw in Mississauga earlier this summer. They sent me some money before I left on my cruise for Alaska and when I saw this I thought it was gorgeous and very “Suzanne” since it was purple. I will wear it with much love and joy, remembering that I am loved and that I love.
At this stage of my life, I do not need much in the way of possessions but I do appreciate the love and good wishes that accompany the gifts. At prison tonight, I sat and listened to one of the inmates talk about why he was in this time. His daughter’s birthday was coming up he needed some money so he decided to rob an establishment, a struggle ensued and he ended up pulling out the weapon he was carrying and injured the other person. I cannot imagine how desperate he must have been to steal so that he could provide his daughter with a gift. The judgmental part of me thinks maybe he should have just spent an hour or so with her, doing something cheap and fun, so that he could be with her now. Instead when asked about her dad, she replies honestly that he is in jail. The compassionate part of me believes this young man has had a crazy life and had some choices end up in bad outcomes. His world was so foreign to me. He did not hold back and I for my part registered no shock. I let him talk. I am not sure he has had many people listen to him without judging him and calling him down.
He speculated that our lives could not have been more different. In a group home by 12 years old, he had been in and out of the system for over a decade. He sees nothing wrong with his life. I am not sure what prompted me to ask him if he saw himself at 80 years old as a grandpa but I did. He was a quiet for a moment, and he squinted, almost as if he was trying to visualize it, and then admitted, “I think I might like that.”
Tonight I am praying for this young man, and hoping that he might find happiness in ways that he has never known. Tonight I am also thanking God for the people who have loved me and gifted me with all sorts of non-material gifts: presents of presence, love, joy, happiness, affirmation, and peace. I am blessed.
Peace,
Suzanne
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