“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”
—Zora Neale Hurston

A friend invited me to be their guest for a fancy, dress-up event. While I was thrilled by the idea of getting away for a special night, I was stuck in indecision: it was a financial burden and I needed some quiet time at home. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings and risk thinning our connection, so I said, “I’ll check my calendar and get back to you”…and never did.

As the day of the event approached and then passed without so much as a text or phone call to my friend, I was embarrassed. Finally—a week later—Love made my soul creep from its hiding place, face my shame, and pick up the phone.

“I’m sorry that I was disrespectful towards our friendship and I didn’t let you know about the event. Our friendship means a lot to me. I’m sorry.”

Silence.

I braced for a breezy, “Oh, that’s okay. I understand,” and then a subsequent chilling of our friendship that would require building up again slowly over time. That’s what I was expecting and was ready to receive with grace. What I heard instead took my breath away.

“It’s really wild you called just now. I’m at the hospital with my family. My sibling is on life support and we have to make the decision of whether or not to take them off life support. Today. We have to decide today.”

My doubt and shame melted away as we entered in a holy space. My friend talked to me about being in that hospital room, watching their sibling’s thread of existence thinning. We reflected on what quality of life meant in their family, the conversations they’d had about dying and death, and what happens when our physical shell ceases to be on earth. And love. My friend celebrated the Love between them—love and letting go when the time comes.

My soul nudged me from a hiding place to confess and to seek forgiveness, and only through the grace of the Great Mystery of Life unfolding around us did I receive the blessing of journeying with a beloved, grieving friend. I showed up in a way that was scary. I did my part—and the sacred pulse towards the Greatest Good in the World did its part—to offer a moment of Love made real in the world.

Prayer
Spirit of Life, Divine Grace, prepare a place in my heart that is open and humble so when I falter in rising to my highest aspirations, my soul can crawl from a hiding place towards courageous healing—for myself, for others, and for us all.