Hold my place?

.

Perhaps we can recall a time in our childhood when we asked a friend, or one we did not yet know, to "hold our place" in a line.

Some of us recall this while in line for lunch as a young child in school, while we retrieved a notebook left behind ... or while we left someone alone while we sought a more familiar friend.

Some of us recall this while in line for concert tickets as a young adult while we fetched coffee to keep us awake and safe while camping out on an overnight line.

However, each of us will one day experience this as a moment when one of us will ask the other to hold on to us as we move on through a challenging time ... or as we die.

At some point, we will be asked to "just be there".

One of the greatest gifts we can give another human being is to act as their guardian ... their caregiver.

Whether this gift is related to a specific situation or is representative of an ongoing commitment, we each benefit from the association.

We are given a family to love and be loved by, and we meet friends and partners with whom to share the same.

In love, there is an absolute and eternal protection and projection of the spirit within us.

To protect someone is to walk with that person in challenging times and see them through safely to the other side of it.

In doing so, we grow with them, regardless of where their journey is calling them ... or us.

Those within our care derive confidence from our support and assistance, enabling them to persevere through almost any condition.

There are many reasons we feel inspired to serve as caregivers to those for whom we so do.

Sometimes just holding the place for somebody allows them to do what is necessary to grow or heal.

Sometimes, just holding that place for somebody can be very lonely and worrisome.

We may simply want to see that our friend or loved one is taken care of and equipped to prevail over difficult circumstances.

We may also sense that we are in possession of knowledge our loved ones are lacking yet need in their current stage of development.

Our offer to serve as a caregiver may also be both unsolicited and unrelated to any one situation.

Instead of helping someone we care about to cope with a specific challenge, we may find ourselves providing them with a more general form of emotional sustenance that prepares and strengthens them for challenges yet to come.

Perhaps even our own energy can absorb the ills from within those for whom we tend to, and even bring about healing, be it physical or spiritual.

Our ability to empathize with those under our guardianship is our greatest asset, because our comprehension of their needs allows us to determine how we can best serve them.

Even when this comprehension is limited, however, the loving intentions with which we enter into our role as guardians and caregivers ensure that our care and protection help others grow as individuals while living their lives with grace.

This is also true in the case of guardianship of our unknown friends ... strangers.

That is what is known as being graceful.

Of course, we understand that this comes from a Spiritual Grace, with which we are blessed.

Grace is always with us.

It flows like a river through our lives, artfully reminding us that there is magic and power beyond what our eyes can see.

At times we catch its subtle beauty, such as during chance meetings, near misses, and insights that seem to come from nowhere.

Other times we experience Grace in all its powerful surety, certainty, and security, such as when a job comes to an end.

Though we may forget that this is Grace at work too, it is indeed influencing our lives, helping us to move forward and take the next step.

Grace exists in all situations, and in every moment. Yet all too often we may overlook its presence.

Imagine how it might feel to live an entire day in absolute Grace, to fully appreciate that our day is unfolding in absolute perfection. Whereas usually we might miss the mystical spirituality in ordinary events and interactions.

Perhaps, on such a particular day, we would recognize each and every blessing that we are granted as miracles.

Perhaps we would begin with our first deep breaths in the morning, becoming aware that there is an abundant supply of air for us to breathe.

That is Grace.

Our lungs know just how to carry oxygen to our blood, and our blood knows where to carry it from there.

This too is Grace.

We might appreciate the pleasant warmth of Spring, the brilliant sunshine of Summer, the enriching colors of Autumn, or the dazzling display of snow and ice that Winter offers us, and appreciate that they greet us at every turn; never knowing if we will return there again.

We might notice the ease with which we do our job or laugh with a close friend.

These things are all Grace.

Even when we lay our heads down at the end of this day, and every day right through the final one, we rest rest in the stillness of night, and that is Grace.

With each opportunity we give ourselves, we empower ourselves to the energetic current of benevolence, which consists of the connection between one of us and another as we hold each other's places in Grace, that we may discover a deeper peace.

We might begin to wonder if struggle is really all that necessary after all.

That last statement is truly one of Grace.

By living just one day in Grace, we might open the door to many more.

So, I must ask you ....

Will you hold my place?


With love, light, and an outstretched palm of hand for you to lead me,


Rob