She should be in her seventies, and at first I felt a bit embarassed when she pulled both my hands and kissed them. She had been emotionally moved, I could see in her words, and she struggled to express herself. Despite the frail health she suffered each day, there was an inundation of joy that was so very obvious in her face. At one moment she just said, 'You are my father!', and I wittily replied, 'No, I am your son, nay your grandson!' She laughed. It was a great joy to see this senior lady laugh heartily. This is the day, she said, she would remember for many days to come. It is as if she had found a treasure in me... she told me she was going to write letter to me, and so asked for my name; when I told her my first name, she said she knew it, but wanted the address. She said she would write her-story for me to read.
There is always a certain spiritual glow in Sister H (I am deliberately concealing the identity of this person), and I would even call it a charm. At one time of our 'spiritual conversation' she had told that in her younger days, there were many suitors who wished to marry her, and I had told her, 'You should have been beautiful', and she would not refute it. I would not go with the worldly notion that beauty is skin-deep; rather it is the beauty that is deep within, which expresses itself in the face. She walks slowly, age has weakened her nerves and she feels the tension, however she kept saying to me, she would not let them take hold on her. It is alright, she smiles.
One thing was sure that in me she had found a "spiritual son" if such a thing may be permissible among to religious persons, committed to God's service. She kept pouring out her love for me. During my recollection talk, I had recommended that each of us could write our own stories of Christmas, and she told me, 'Since you have told me, I am going to write my story, and I hope you will read it!' There was so much of life, enthusiasm in her that I found it quite amusing. There are times, when her needs are not met, there are people who do not bother about her wants, but that does not disturb her. I had been so, and that is not a big problem for me.
It was the time for confession, and there were some sisters waiting outside the parlor, and Sr H was with me for about half an hour, and I could make out the sisters sitting outside were wondering what was conspiring between us; there were occasional peals of laughter (I had been known in my familiar circles as a big-laughing-mouth), and for a good part she spoke, sometimes even repeating snippets of her life, which she had been sharing with me during the previous months. It was truly a 'confession' of her life, her joys and struggles as she moved from one horrendous stage to another. A few times I could notice a drop of tear or two in her eyes, but she was only too happy that she she had a smooth sail after dedicating her life for the Lord and his serivce.
Wanting and feeling the warmth of someone very dear to us is not only the law of nature, but is also a call to a meaningful existence in the world. Today I would like to take time out to recall to mind the persons whose warmth, love and affection have filled me with gratitude; my life is what it is, thanks to their loving concern. I would like to think of one person in life, who has entered into my life, and changed the very course of my life's direction. We are not 'momentary guests' in the lives of those who we come in contact with, but they are our co-travellers, or better still co-pilgrims. They make our lives meaningful. I am grateful to Sr H for opening to me yet another facet of my life, for helping me open the doors of my heart ajar, so that any needy soul may find shelter in it!
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