Tonight I was sorting through some boxes, trying to find something, when I came across one that held letters from friends the year I lived in Washington, DC with the Sojourners Community. Within the box were the cards that each of my roommates and my two supervisors gave me on our last retreat together.
I pull them out sometimes because they are dear to me and tonight I took advantage of stumbling across them to reread them. Ginny, one of my supervisors, opened with the above sentences. I still get teary reading them. I am in awe of how each of those folks really saw into the depths of me in those 12 months we shared together. We did a lot of activities together but this one is the gift that continues to give abundantly.
It took me forever to figure out that conflict resolution was something that brought me life and yet tonight as I read these cards for the first time since graduating, I see that each of them has a comment about who I am in this regard. Bob, my other supervisor, wrote “I have seen you take risks, and step into pain—others and your own—when with ease you could have avoided it. For others, with others, you share your strength. And give away a piece of it, I think, because I don’t feel that people walk away aware of your strength as much as they walk away aware of their own and God’s.”
To me, these notes are such a gift. I treasure them. I don’t always see my own goodness. Like so many people, I see where I fell short, where I failed to extend grace, where I pray that God would redeem. Tonight, these cards were once again a balm to my deepest soul. I thank God for the wisdom of my two supervisors who came up with this concept and for each person who took the time to write a note of blessing to me. I pray that you too may encounter such a blessing at some point in your life.
Peace,
Suzanne
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