Dear Tom:
Suzy and I have just returned from my periodic trip to DC to meet with the Transplant doctors. Our friends invited us on our return to visit them in the Mountains and just relax. In the past we would have “to much on our plate” to be spontaneous or “to busy” to just come for a few days to “just relax.” Well am I glad I didn’t listen to those old voices? We were greeted by comfort, a fire in the fireplace, snow in the forecast, and a just do whatever attitude that our bodies, minds, and souls always seem to cry out for, but we seldom heed. It was a welcome respite and helped me mentally process my doctor’s message and my struggle for the meaning of the last couple of years.
It was these same friends who during those dark days of investigations, threats, and uncertainty would offer their then home in the country as a haven, home, and shelter from everything in the world that seemed dangerous and a threat to our peace. And now once again, I was enjoying the safety of their friendship in their snow covered retreat. So, I reflected on those retreats in the country and the lessons and realizations that came through them those days long ago. I learned that peace doesn’t come from backing away from adversity, but from being in the thick of the battle standing true to one’s beliefs no matter the cost to one’s security. I learned that the journey for the sake of saving our own lives is in a sense to cease to live in any sense that matters, and that it is in saving others that we come alive.
Once again with the help of friends who opened up their home, I received a glimpse of the road and know it is the one worth traveling. Now I need to spend a little time working on the strength to travel down the way.
Your Friend, Webb
Webb. Thank you for your comment, it meant so much. “I learned that peace doesn’t come from backing away from adversity, but from being in the thick of the battle standing true to one’s beliefs no matter the cost to one’s security. I learned that the journey for the sake of saving our own lives is in a sense to cease to live in any sense that matters, and that it is in saving others that we come alive.”