This week’s inspiration comes from a new friend, Nancy, and the story she shared at a recent gathering I attended. As she was preparing to leave her three-year-old grandson, who lives out of state, she told him how sorry she was that she had to say goodbye, how sad it made her, and how very much she was going to miss him.
“It’s okay,” the little fella assured her. “There are strings between our hearts.”
I joined the collective “aww” from the audience as tears began to well. How beautiful. How absolutely beautiful!
And how I hoped it was true for me, too. I wondered, does my precious Blakely Faye feel that way? Have I done enough in her three short years of life that she feels there are strings between our hearts, too?
It’s hard to be family when distance separates us. Yet, even when there is proximity, it still takes some “doin’,” as my mother used to say, to be with one another. Relationships don’t just happen. Like anything else worthwhile in life, they take time, effort, and creativity.
That’s what life is all about, really. Building connections. Finding the strings between our hearts.
Never was it more evident than at the book club I visited last week. The amazing “Sister Chicks” have book-clubbed together for almost 12 years. I was honored they chose my book and wanted to discuss it.
I knew the hostess, but had no idea that 27 years ago her daughter had cared for my disabled son, Matthew, in the nursery of our church. Another attendee shared that she knew the Johns Hopkins neurologist who diagnosed my transverse myelitis, the rare inflammation of the spinal cord that paralyzed me. And, I learned that another attendee volunteers at the gift shop (so fabulous that I still shop there) at GBMC, the local hospital that has cared for me during all my hospitalizations—from four childbirths to paralysis to my most recent overnight there on Christmas Eve.
Indeed the strings connected us, creating an intriguing web of budding relationships.
Where will those strings go from here? That’s up to all those involved, right?
Time. Effort. Creativity. Let’s go!
So thank you, Nancy, for giving me such a sweet story to remind me to look for and nurture the strings that connect our hearts.
How about you? How do you find and strengthen the strings that connect you to those you care about? Tell me about it. I’d love to know.
My best – always,
Becky (Nana B)
P.S. Yikes! Big week coming up! Come see me if you can (or send energizing thoughts and prayers my way). Two library book talks: Perry Hall Library Sept. 29 and Hereford Library Oct. 3. So excited!
And in between, on Sept. 30, I’ll be at Pathfinders for Autism’s Run Wild for Autism. Details and more events here:
P.P.S. What?! I happened to peek at Amazon rankings last week. So honored to be in the company of these fine authors and books! Thanks for your support and encouragement! Couldn’t do it without YOU!
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