“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us…”

Charles Dickens wrote perhaps one of the most amazing opening lines that I have encountered and it describes perfectly my life and existence before today. This morning I awoke to the love of my life in pain that I could not heal and in a physical state that I could neither calm nor relieve. This brought us to Henry Mayo Hospital Emergency Department in Newhall, CA where I encountered blessings upon blessings in the human form of: Dr. Leicher, Dr. Rama, Dr. Ang, Mark, Kimberly (The best nurse ever),Oscar, Chris, Vick and Ray. Later; Dr. Enriquez, Nicole, Jessi and Ruben through their compassion and kindness lighted my burdens today. I am so grateful for you all.

I have always had a nuanced and very esoteric prayer life and today, I came to know every moment, every breath and every conversation as prayer. My mother used to say how prayer changes things and this I have always known, while today prayer became so much more. Today, prayer became for me the ability to trust and know, breath and believe.

This day I have been loving spouse, healthcare advocate, communicator extraordinaire and keeper of peace. Selah…

After making more phone calls than can one can imagine, managing text messages between family, colleagues and friends as though I was juggling lightning bolts. I found myself in need of some good news, some light, some goodness to find me right where I sat.

As I sat numb from all of the information, decisions, and my own emotional avalanche, I noticed a gentleman sitting quietly across from me praying the Rosary. I quietly went over and sat beside him to see if I could offer a prayer for his loved one. He shared with me that he was praying in Aramaic, the language of Christ and he joyfully invited me to join him. He prayed in Aramaic and I prayed in English. He seemed surprised that I knew the Rosary and honestly so did I. As we ended our journey of prayer, he shared with me that he was from Jerusalem and as a child baptized in the River Jordan and how his faith is what keeps him grounded. For the the first time in hours I breathed a little easier because here I was offering to support him and the blessing of his presence was more of a blessing to me. I knew the family gathered on the other side of the room was still stunned from the announcement that I am her wife, were even more freaked out that I would approach and pray with a stranger who was so different from me. The truth is, I do it all the time. What life has taught me is that pain hurts in every language and love heals every ethnicity and love is the universal glue that holds us in times like these. In that moment, our differences held no significance to us as our prayers became the tie that bound us to that moment. We later shared a laugh or two and a parting acclamation of blessing as I departed the space.

I think that there is some truth in mother’s perspective of prayer changing things and it is a truth that continues to pour itself into us that we may be free. My soul declares an even deeper Truth; Prayer changes us. Now that is a miracle for some.

I have a new thought about my favorite Dickens quote: “It is the best of times, it is theworst of times, it is the age of wisdom, it is the age of foolishness, it is the epoch of belief, it is the epoch of incredulity, it is the season of Light, is the season of Darkness, it is the spring of hope, it is the winter of despair, we have everything before us…”

As for the situation that brought me here, if you are the praying type don’t stop. Because in prayer we will find our way and the way we find is love. Love heals us all…

I hope that my telling of a doing is as supportive of your journey as the actual experience is been to me.