Thursday, May 9, 2019
My Soul Sister
There is a tree in front of my house that has seen its better days. It has branches broken, others have been removed, but for God’s creatures it has been a source of life. Birds have nested in it and this spring a red headed woodpecker has taken up residence in it. Squirrels galore live in this tree of age, along with a host of other critters. Each Wednesday, when Susan would picked me up for our weekly journey to Winthrop Hospital to visit women there with heart disease, we would look at that tree and laugh because we would chat about there goes us, with all our aches and pains, and doctor appointments. We would share notes on our bruised hearts but not our souls, not our spirits: there were in -tacked. This spring, once again, the tree bloomed, a few leaves thinner, like our hair, leaning a little more, but spirit and soul intact. That was Susan! Susan saw her purpose in life to be bigger than her physical condition; that God’’s purpose for her life was more important than her physical concerns. That’s what made Susan so special. The work she and I did/do for WomenHeart is unique, different, sometimes difficult but never unrewarding and that’s what kept her going even when the pain was great and the effort difficult. Her body was bruised, but not her heart and anyone who came in contact with her knew that-immediately. She spoke hope and offered hugs and kissed to women she knew not and probably never see again. Susan offered joy to others through her own struggles and doubts and pain. For many she has been a ray of possibilities. I. Know that for me, there were many times we held up each other’s arms. I’m going to miss my Susan. She cannot be replaced.
