"all of this is so very holy..."

"I believe there are debts
you never can repay.
I believe there are some words
you never can unsay.
I don't know a soul
who didn’t get lost along the way.
And all I know is I can’t help
but see all of this as so very holy..."

Some moments are so holy that they take your breath away. I was wrestling with something weighing heavily on my heart today. I'd spent all evening in prayer looking for just how to reach out to someone I care very deeply about.

It occurred to me that I could send an email as a first step. I reached for my laptop, which had been virtually untouched most of the day, and opened my mailbox.  Only to find that an email from that very friend was at the top of the list waiting to be read.

I almost burst into tears. It just felt so divinely serendipitous. Then I opened her note and the floodgates burst. She was sharing this link to Carrie Newcomer's live video recording of "I Believe."

If I didn't know that Love unites the universe in one seamless fabric of consciousness, it would have shaken me. The message couldn't have been more perfect.

I was vaguely familiar with Carrie's song, but didn't have the lyrics on the tip of my tongue. However the underlying message of finding holiness in our ordinary moments, had long-lingered since the first time I'd heard it.

So, before listening to the song, I sent a reply thanking her for thinking of me, and promised to watch the video. I pressed "send," returned to her email, and clicked on the link.

That's when I lost it. It was too much. The lyrics were simple, perfect -- healing. I felt as if God's voice has been whispering to my friend, "This is what Kate needs today, will you be My messenger of Love?" And she had answered, "Yes."

I hope she knows how much her willingness to listen for God's direction -- in all things, big and small -- matters in the world. I hope you all do. I can't even begin to tell you how often -- just when I need it most -- someone has "unknowingly" sent a message, a song, a poem, or smiled from across a room, and made all the difference in my day.

In the story of the Good Samaritan a stranger goes out of his way to care for someone he finds broken and alone along the road. He doesn't need to know the backstory, only that the man is hurting and needs to be cared for. He doesn't hesitate.

There are some acts of kindness so meaningful -- which represent a value so great, a worth so incalculable -- that any true measure of reciprocity is unfathomable. All we can do is try our best to "pay it forward" as we continue on our journey.

Tonight, my friend may think she merely heard a song, thought of a friend, and shared a link. But that simple, unvarnished act of kindness was one of the holiest moments of my day. I felt the presence of God. I still do. Can there be anything more wonderful?

so deeply grateful,
 

Kate