The Better Way to Love
He lifted the plastic wrap from a plate that held a single piece of cake. The chocolate icing had melted underneath and it was pulling away as he lifted it.
He responded by gently touching each side, one side at a time, peeling back the corners until the entire piece of cake was uncovered perfectly intact.
He paid close attention to the tiny details of a deeper need.
He didn’t rush through the moment in front of him, but seemed to expand the space around himself, making room to be entirely present with the ailing woman in his care.
His tender response to her was purely spontaneous, yet it felt like he had been made ready for it.
I had pulled carelessly at the piece of cake in front of me, taking off most of the icing and leaving a crumbled mess on the plate. All I could do was apologize, rather abashedly to my own sweet friend who was patiently waiting on her dessert.
I compared our efforts and determined a quick verdict.
His was the better way to love.
The woman he was caring for seemed to miss it, as he lifted the fork to her mouth for the first bite, she seemed unaware of the effort that he had made seconds before.
I understood, though, she had felt it in a different way, more transcendent than sight. She was experiencing, in the richest way, the warmth and wholeness of being beloved.
I was reminded that God’s love thrives around the frayed edges of this world, present in the places where kindness can’t always be returned, repaid or acknowledged.
In this place, where the elderly and physically broken come to heal, there is an even greater need to choose this better way to love.
We are continually being invited into these every day, ordinary circumstances in this life where the soft edges of God’s deep love have been intentionally prepared to spontaneously brush through the difficulties around us.
These simple stories of God’s great love are taking place right in front of us, teaching us, encouraging us and helping us remember.
His is the better way to love.