There but for the grace of God

I got an email from my friend Howard yesterday. He had fallen on some black ice while clearing off his Jeep. It was a crappy morning and he did not want to take out the good car that was parked nice and dry in the garage. He cleaned off the snow and ice from the front of the vehicle then walked around the side to do the back. On the way, he slipped and his feet flew out from under him. He fell flat on his back on the blacktopped driveway. He hit his elbow, hip and smacked his head. He immediately drove himself to the Emergency Room in Morristown where they stitched up his elbow, X-rayed the rest and sent him home.

Two weeks later, he started to lose his words and his right foot was dragging. He called his doctor, went back to the hospital and had brain surgery the next day. Brain surgery- the scariest of surgeries. He had a Subdural Hematoma. He said he had no headache. No symptoms. After the surgery the bleeding did not stop, so they had to go back in again to find the cause. It could have been much, much worse.

After 2 surgeries and a stay at a Rehab center, he is now home. I spoke to him today and he sounds normal. His voice is strong. He is tired, but on the mend.

He told me of the misery of those in the hospital and in rehab--the pain and suffering that happens around us that we do not know. While in the hospital he prayed for all those suffering in the world. He said it was a wake-up call. "Your life can change in an instant. We should all be thankful for what we have."

In this Easter season let us hold up to the light all who suffer. As I sit down with my guests for Easter dinner, I will pray for Howard who may be having Easter lunch at a diner, but is alive and well enough to go out-even for a short distance. God Bless.

Weeping

I have never seen a tree weep from an injury quite like this. Usually trees are stoic. We do not see the pain and suffering our actions and those of the birds and insects cause. I saw this tree on my morning walk. I have probably walked by it hundreds of times without noticing it. The wound is what drew me to it. I touched it in sympathy. The wetness was like tears, not sticky like sap. It has not stopped weeping.

Living on a mountain, I take trees for granted. I love them but they are everywhere in the thousands. How jaded I have become. What does it take to be noticed in this world? Only pain and suffering? The same is true for each of us. What does it take for us to notice each other? Or a tree in pain.