Yesterday was primary voting day for my state and after dropping my six-year-old off at summer school, I headed over to my poll location to exercise my civic duty.  It was a clear, sunny morning and I felt good. 

As I walked up the walkway to entrance of the building, I encountered an older lady heading down.  I immediately noticed something about this lady which was impossible to miss.  She walked with a cane in a hunched over manner, very slow and deliberate.  As she came closer into view it appeared she was wincing in pain with every gentle step she took.  As I started my way over to offer my assistance, I realized she wasn’t wincing, she was crying. 

“Hello,” I said. “Are you ok?”  The woman looked up at me with a half-smile on her face and replied “Yes I'm okay these are happy tears!   I've had some health challenges over the past few months and I'm just grateful to be able to get out and vote.” 

My heart burned within me to hear and see the gratitude in this woman’s countenance in the midst of her apparent suffering; I felt compelled to connect more with her.  I asked if she would like to pray and she said “Yes, but I don’t want to take up much of your time you know you're here to vote.”  I chuckled as I responded, “you're not taking too much of my time, I'm on God's time”.  Her half smile turned to a full smile as I helped her over to a bench in front of the parking lot of the building.

We sat down, and Ms. Barbara shared with me a little bit of her story of going from being a healthy, independent, thriving woman to developing debilitating health issues that caused severe mobility issues and pain in her body.  Even still, Ms. Barbara did not complain or wallow or cry, well she did cry but again she swore her tears were tears of joy now after many, many days crying tears of sorrow. 

As Ms. Barbara endured the pain and heartache of her ailments over time, her emotional and mental state uplifted and now when she thinks of how far she’s come, she’s so grateful that she's able move about with support despite the disabilities she now lives with.  With tears of my own, I prayed with her expressed what a blessing it was for me to meet and to hear her story, her Alabaster Jar Moment…

With Support. 

Those words stuck with me.  The support of her family, physicians, therapists and her trusty cane brought Ms. Barbara to where we were today, sitting on a bench in front of the building where she just voted.  It was my deepest pleasure to meet Ms Barbara today and I hope her story inspires us in knowing that joy and wholeness can spring from the depths of a grateful heart. 

Her words and cane reminded me of how we want to encourage, celebrate and support each other through this blog and website.  No one can heal, grow, recover in a vacuum.  We all need support, so I invite you to share your journey of growth and recovery…your Alabaster Jar Moment here by clicking the Share Your Moment button below to submit words of encouragement and healing. 

If you are on a pathway to wholeness, or would like to be, we have resources to help support you on your journey.  Restoration is possible.