Each moment is a diamond from the Hands of God.💎

Marina and I are allowed one half hour visit per week. She has regressed in lockdown, today she has many worries, most of them imagined. Human contact is vital in this time of pandemic, particularly for our most vulnerable. 

Fears allayed, she relaxes, smiling again like the old days. I admire her newly painted nails, I write a letter to her friend as she narrates. Time comes to depart, I promise to visit again next week. Those of us who can visit Nursing Homes safely at this moment in time should do so, many residents are extremely lonely.

Walking home, thinking back to a time when Marina and I were having tea in a local cafe and Marina stopped to chat with a lady she once knew. The lady in question very uncomfortable speaking with Marina, highly embarrassed in front of her friends. What would they think? a lady of her standing in the community, conversing with a person from the psychiatric unit. I watched in pain for Marina, but ever the beautiful lady that she is, Marina said her piece and then walked on gently, dignified.

‘Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person’. (Colossians 4:6)

Ten years on, how things have changed, ’important’  lady doesn’t look very important anymore. The dust has settled and if the opportunity arose today, Marina and important lady would probably have a very pleasant conversation. But, alas, the moment has passed, that ship has sailed.

Every moment is a diamond, a jewel from the Hands of God, every interaction a privilege. Each and every person we encounter has something notable to share with us, if we just look below the surface with the eyes of our hearts. 

Each one of us is unique, God does not make copies. He does indeed throw away the mold.

‘And now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye’. (Antoine De Saint-Exupery)