Some of the best conversations I’ve had have happened on the front steps of The Mustard Seed. The steps face southwest and are often basked in the warmth of the afternoon sun, making them a perfect place to sit. These steps are where I first got to know Lori. It was one of those warm afternoons when I arrived early for a Saturday shift- Lori was already on the steps, relaxing in the sun. In our first conversation, we sat and talked for hours.
Over the following months Lori began to share pieces of her story with me, memories from the past that were sometimes painful and other times quite humorous. On the streets and struggling with addiction since the age of 12, Lori never ceased to amaze me at the things she could endure while still maintaining an incredible sense of humor. Listening to her struggles I had no idea what to do for Lori. What could I say? How could I respond? What could I do that would possibly be of help to someone in so much pain?
Author Jamie Arpin-Ricci writes, “All too often, when faced with the sadness and suffering of others, we rush to offer comfort in order to ease our own discomfort… We want to give advice, to solve the problem, to fix what is broken as much to relieve our own discomfort as to genuinely help the other’s hurt. Instead, Jesus invites us to come alongside, identify with those suffering and join them in their mourning…the community into which Jesus invites us is beautiful because it is a sacred place – the only place – in which the mourner can truly find comfort.”
Lori taught me the essence of relationship: she taught me that all I could do in the face of her tremendous pain, and perhaps all she needed me to do, was to mourn alongside her; to join her in grief, but also in hope.
This is a sad week for me as I mourn the recent death of Lori. She touched my life in deeply meaningful ways. My invitation to you is to mourn along with me the loss of a special woman, a wonderful human being whom I hope has finally found the real love and true comfort she was longing for.
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