Thank you for your patience while I took some time off from my blog (as well as from many other things). It has been a hard space in my life, laying to rest my beloved husband of 35+ years. Being without him will continue to be hard.
But the experience reminded me of the importance of the human touch. His fingers grazing mine when he needed something from the bedside table he couldn’t reach. His smile as I rubbed his feet while we talked, with me doing most of the talking. Mutual reassurance at 3 A.M. when I’d hear irregular breathing, lay a hand on his chest, and feel the pattern change to calmness. That little current flowing between us as we held hands for our morning couple-prayers, even after the actual words came only through my lips.
Hugs of children, grand-children, and friends–hugs that brought healing tears and pushed away fears and anticipated loneliness. And all their cheek-kisses, back caresses, adjusting wayward strands of our hair, finger massages, and quiet hand-holding for both of us and for each other.
During times of grave illness and death, loving people are frustrated because they really do want to do something to help. So they say, “If there’s anything at all that I can do….” What I want to say to many of them is that their simple touch brought us both so much comfort and encouragement. To others I’d say that God gave us each a body so we can minister to each other through the grace of a simple human touch.