As we enter into this season of gratitude, amidst loss, grief and endless tragedies, we experience the Light in acts of compassion and human kindness. The following story was shared by cousin Kim de Beaumont of an incredible experience she had just last night.  

"There are saints among us. At around 9:40 this evening I got off a Metro-North train in Pelham only to find that there were no taxis and that the sidewalks and roads were covered in an extremely treacherous icy slush.

I was afraid even to take one step because of my inadequate smooth-soled boots. Others were waiting with me. I called the Pelham Manor police for help and was given the brush.

A large red SUV started to pull out of the station lot and I could see the driver hesitate. He stopped, rolled down his window, and asked us all if we needed a ride. Five of us (all men but me) scrunched ourselves into the four available seats. Over the next forty minutes or so, he got each and every one of us home.

I was the last, because at first there were terrible traffic jams in the (hilly) streets surrounding my apartment house. When things seemed impossible, he had even suggested I come back to share a cup of coffee with him and his family while waiting things out. Fortunately, he got me home before that was necessary.

 I said to him as he delivered me safely to the garage entrance of my building, “Bless you.” I will never forget your kindness, and am most grateful of all for the way that you have restored my faith." ~ Kim de Beaumont

On a cold hard night our hearts are thawed and our spirits lifted by the generosity of human kindness. Some may ask, where is God in all the struggles and the suffering? I am reminded,  right here in our midst, for the Light shines through our broken and misshapen places.

Reflect on Tracy Cochran's words this week and receive the blessings as you bless others with a simple gesture of acceptance  within our human frailties and light-filled being.

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Watercolor by ~liz