Celebrating the Kingdom.: tea talk.

Prescence-1. The state or fact of being present; current existence or occurrence.
2. Immediate proximity in time or space.
3. The area immediately surrounding a great personage, especially a sovereign.
4. A person who is present.

I've had the joy of being apart of Sherry's life for almost 5 years now. I knew her before moving into my house, and now she has lived directly below me for 3 years. She often comes up for tea, and we talk about life. These moments are sacred. Our converstations range from a serious tone discussing hard situations that we are in, to the hilarious moments of our day. This morning she came up; I heated the water , handed her a spoon, the sugar bowl, and a mug. I sipped my coffee, she sipped her tea. We talked about her oldest daughter who is expecting a baby this spring. We talked about my first grade classroom, and the funny stories from the week. She told me more about her anxieties that she has for the kidney transplant taking place in two weeks. ( Our landlord is giving her his kidney!) During the ebb and flow of our conversation her 5 year old, Delone, came upstairs, and her 1 year old grandbaby, Yonathan. She looked over at them and said to me "Just think you met Delone when he was Yonnie's age." As I looked at Sherry's face, and took in her features, I was overtaken by our friendship. She has changed my life. She has transformed the way I look at loving others. This woman, who undergoes dialysis 3 mornings per week has taken in 2 of her relatives kids, and is anticipating being the primary caregiver for her newest grandchild. Her precense is quiet, she often seems tired, but her face radiates with peace.

With warm beverages in hand, we talk sometimes for 20 minutes, other times for a few hours. We've shared tears with each other. Some tears were a result of laughter, and some were from moments that are painful and messy. We have celebrated birthdays, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas together. We have had many backyard BBQ's. I've seen her son drum at pow-wows, and her daughter proudly display her Native jingle dress dancing to the beat. We knock on each other's doors asking for sugar, or butter if we are out. I've seen her in the hospital when her health hasn't been very good. I've seen her tears, after pouring our concerns she has for her children. I've seen the look she gives to her children when her heart is welling up with gratitude for them. I've sought advice from her on life situations, work, boys, and much more. When their is a knock at the door most of the time I can guarantee it is Sherry seeing who is around for tea.

I met Savannah, Sherry's youngest the day she came home from the hospital. I have never known any other person through all of their developmental stages. She is such a beautiful little girl. Many of the women who have lived in this house have been deemed her "aunties."

Sherry, I am thankful you are present in my life. Our tea talks are one of the biggest blessings in my life.