it was thursday.
my oldest son, home
from college for the summer.
we headed for the gym.
all my children and i love
the deliverance that a good
workout brings. taylor to the
weight room. i, to the cardio
area.
it was a day that put a fist
in my stomach. two miles,
and i headed toward the women's
locker area. 10p.m. barely making
it to the bathroom in time
to lose every piece of food in me.
hoping no one was there, too. listening
to my sickness.
stumbling to a sink.
cold water on my face.
when looking into the mirror,
i saw this beautiful, hispanic woman.
cleaning. a crease between her eyes.
you, okay?
her two english words.
i threw my arms around her neck.
buried my hot, wet face into her
shoulder. two women. miles and
miles apart; yet, at this exact moment,
we were bound by love. a force so powerful.
stretched across eternity by the God of
the universe.
pushing myself away from her.
what do i smell and look like?
her face warmed by kindness
and concern.
oh! love of God.
beautiful. amazing. enduring.
bound by pure, untarnished sacrifice.
the Cross. Redemption.
sing, Jesus, sing.
wipe away the darkness and
corruption. until our boundaries
are erased. and music resounds
to the breadth and magnitude of
God's passion.
i was done for the night.
sitting in the downstair's
area of the gym lobby.
beat. demolished. empty
of all pride. my feet no longer
resounding the torch of rhythm.
suddenly,
i see the same hispanic
woman. straightening chairs.
she looks up, and sees me.
her face breaks the universe
with love pulsing from her.
i return the smile. she,
motionless, and i.
miles and pain and
corruption all around us...
but cleansed.
two women.
apart. but bonded...with
powerful oneness. all because
of Jesus. His glory. His
Song.
"For I am convinced that neither
death nor life,
neither angels or demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers,
neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
~Romans 8:38-39