I was in the car. I knew about his son. He had a difficult background and had not really arrived in life yet. His father was worried. So he had called me. There had been little time to talk. I called him back. He had time. We started talking, laughing a lot. Our hearts became warm. Then we came to talk about what was worrying. He had already tried a lot for his child. Mostly (apparently) unsuccessfully. I listened, asked questions, made him laugh. In the end, I told him about a group where such young people sought and tried to find common ways. Hope started to germinate in him. "A new sun has now risen over my day!" I heard him say at the end.
My mind wandered further, to a student whose grandmother had recently passed away very suddenly. I had tried hard to accompany this way at a distance with my praying and loving. Now, somehow, the life of this young woman and her family had to go on. But the pain still ran deep. I called. We entered into a sensitive exchange. Everything that was and everything that hurt found its space. "How nice that you called!" I heard at the end. Praying, I stayed close to both people.
