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Love is a Rebirth

A friend suffered a great loss this past week – her Grandma passed away. As many friends have want to do, she went to facebook to share the news, but as you’ll see, this wasn’t your normal public announcement. Her post, in full, follows below:

My grandma passed away today. I write this not as a public journal entry, but I want to share a story with all of you that is truly moving to me.

Yesterday, we received a buzz from a guest in the front lobby, though we weren’t expecting any guests. I came to the front door to welcome a man, his wife, and two beautiful children, a girl, 6, and a boy, 1. I asked him if we were related and apologized if I didn’t know (there are a lot of family members out here in Minnesota!). He said no. Then I asked how he was connected to Grandma. He answered, “she saved my life. ”

When he came inside he continued to share stories of Grandma’s impact in his life. My cousin Melissa met him randomly outside of a jailhouse as he was released after 11 days for a domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend. He and Melissa got to talking and he told her that he didn’t have any place to go, he was homeless. His mother and friends disowned him and wanted nothing to do with him. Melissa knew what to do. She brought him to Grandma.

Grandma had already been a foster mom for many years, but had since left the “system”. Still, she managed to house others who needed a home. Melissa lived in the upstairs bedroom. Two other “random” men lived in the basement downstairs. Grandma decided this man would sleep in the room directly across from her, so she could keep a good eye on him. She had two conditions for living in her home: shower and eat. She was “compassionate and stern” as he described, which gave him a second chance to go from homeless to starting a new life. He has been clean from drugs ever since. Drinks maybe once a year. Went to college and met his wife. It was so incredible to see him yesterday with a lovely wife and beautiful children, all because my Grandma believed in the person he could be, the better man he could become. He was so torn up with many tears yesterday telling us how thankful he was to have had Grandma in his life.

I wish I could be even a sliver of the incredible woman my grandma was. She lead a serving life for others. She always had open arms, and quite literally an open house. She was a remarkable woman and the world will greatly miss her. It is our collective responsibility now to be as warm and welcoming with others as my grandma was. To have hearts OVERFLOWING with love. It is a hard responsibility to bare, but I absolutely believe we can do it.

Hug someone you love today. Do an INTENTIONAL act of kindness. Change a life, and change the world.

Will we hear my friends call to have hearts OVERFLOWING with love? Imagine that love leading to the kind of rebirth this man experienced, complete and fulfilled even unto a brand new legacy. What an amazing way to have contributed to life. At the very least, let’s not forget Grandma.

Love is a cycle of Inspiration

A friend sent this to me and I thought it appropriate for the first post of 2014…I’ve reposted it here from the original post on facebook, with permission.

Inspiration starts in the home. –Alpha English

What does being inspired really mean? Alpha would say it means having the faith to tackle difficult tasks. She surely had it. In a time when few women went to college, she did and with honors. Then after a lifetime of teaching in a small Arkansas town, she began writing plays and a history of African Americans for the benefit of young and old alike. She was inspired. Her example inspired others, too.

But what if we didn’t grow up in a home where inspiration was nurtured? Did that mean we couldn’t develop it? Taking notice of how we have solved problems and approached the unknown in our lives indicates the level of inspiration we acquired from somewhere. What’s obvious is that we did create it somehow. Any accomplishment we can point to is evidence. Nobody tackles anything without some inner drive that says they can. That’s inspiration.

Some of us did have more than others. Some of us still do. The good news is that we can “trade” inspiration with each other. We can give it away when a friend is in need, and we can borrow it back when we’re feeling uncertain about a direction or a task. It matters not where we get it. It never did. It was simply easier for us if it was one of the gifts passed on in our homes.

My inspiration can come from anywhere today. Those who are closest are the obvious “carriers.”

Love can be found in the giver and the receiver, in the act of inspiring and in the act of being inspired. For Love is at the root of both – the instigator in the sharing of an inspiration, the preparer of the heart ripe for inspiration. Yet, it is in the cycle that Love shines most, when hearts change places in a continual dance lifting each other closer and closer to love itself. All of it instigated by love to begin with.

Indeed Love is a cycle of Inspiration.

Love is Heroic

On December 14th Jordan (the country) was hit by the worst snow storm in the last 40 years. It just so happened that a friend of mine was driving in the middle of it. Suleiman went from zero to hero in no time with his trusty truck, named Lola. Here are some pictures and his personal account, reposted with permission.

Biggest snow storm in 40 years.

HeroCollage01

4 hour roaming patrol. Towed 3 cars, rescued 18 stranded people & drove them home. One of them a man who got stuck buying his family bread. When I found him it was so cold the bread was almost frozen. He told me he will name his first son Suleiman. Today is a good day.

Rescued an EMT ambulance unit that was stuck for more than 4 hours in the snow. They have been working non stop for 3 days. Real Heroes. They told me they heard about a man in a black truck helping people. They hoped I would pass them by. And I did! Karma! I Towed them back to their HQ. They treated me for frostbites in my left foot that I didn’t realize I had.

He didn’t go home, he stayed on the road, and helped as many people as he could.

Love is heroic.

My friend is real. You can follow Suleiman on twitter!!

Here’s wishing you and yours a new year filled with all kinds of love.

Love is Sacrifice

A dear friend posted this status on Facebook. It was such a beautiful story I asked if I could repost. It is here by permission:

I can’t stop thinking about that man. The driver of the cab that took us to the aiport in Dubai. He’s from Pakistan. He has a master’s degree in history and Islamic studies. Perfect English. He founded a school in Pakistan and was a teacher, said teachers aren’t paid well there. I said they aren’t paid well anywhere. He’s been in Dubai for 7 years, driving a cab. Been married for 6. She has a master’s degree in English Literature, but she’s back in Pakistan, has to stay home to take care of a family of 2 kids and 2 elderly parents (his). He only sees them once a year. I said, it must be lonely living so far from them. He said, such is life ma’am, I do all this for them. I grew silent. I’m still silent.

I am silent, too.