Member-only story
The 1 Answer to the Question You Will Ask God Some Day
That is, if you haven’t already.
A woman I once knew told a story about herself. She was a formidable woman, considered a spiritual guide by many people who knew her.
Privately I thought she came on a bit strong. This was long enough ago that I was still uncomfortable with the unspoken challenge I felt when in the presence of a woman who assumed leadership and who didn’t ask for approval or permission.
She didn’t ask for permission to tell this story, but tell it she did, and it changed the way I saw her and the way I saw myself.
I don’t know if that was her intention. It’s a simple little story, an anecdote from her life, but it has served me well in the years since I heard it.
The woman fell ill while traveling in a foreign country. She was very ill indeed, and this country, wherever it was, had sketchy health services, which was one of the reasons for her trip in the first place.
Luckily she was not traveling alone. Her companion was a nurse, resourceful and competent and good in emergencies. While the woman suffered through bouts of dysentery and nausea, by turns shivering and sweating as her temperature soared, the nurse stayed by her side, calmly doing what she could for her.
