The joy of being cherished

I sat in the hairdresser's chair on Saturday, as she told me how she had been so upset recently that her sister had given up offering long-distance advice over the phone line and arrived on her doorstep late one evening, having traveled across the country.

Although she had gone through a very tough time, one of the gifts to come out of it was seeing exactly how much her sister treasured her and wanted to assuage her pain.  There's very little that compares to those moments when we experience how loved and cherished we are by those around us.

In my case, the event that stands outs unfolded on Boxing Night 2008...

It was 3.30am.  I was lying in an trolley bed in Accident & Emergency and I was enveloped by a feeling I can only describe as intense joy... elation...

The reason was, despite the pain I was feeling (suspected appendicitis) my parents had sat with me for two hours at home, as I rolled around the bed in agony.

At 2am they finally decided I needed to get to a hospital.  Eventhough they were exhausted, as they had only slept a few hours the previous night, my Dad patiently waited on a hard chair, in a dark corridor, all night, refusing to go home.  My mother sat beside me in the cubicle, alternately offering comfort to me and the distressed patient in the next cubicle.

I was so deeply touched by their love of me, that they refused to leave me on my own.  To feel how loved we are is truly the greatest gift we can receive.

And remembering it frequently can soothe so many of the petty arguments we have with our nearest and dearest!