Ripples Of Love In A Pond

About a week ago, I blogged this bit about my elderly mother breaking her neck.

I've heard people question the existence of God because there is evil and suffering in the world, but this makes no sense to me. If our lives were nothing but painless joy, how would we love? It's in moments like this that we can show tenderness and compassion. Without suffering, there is no chance to love.

Last night, we went to Cursillo* team school where we prepare for the next retreat weekend. 40 people must have come up to me and asked how my mom was doing and let me know they were praying for her. They had mentioned her in their prayer groups and all of them showed a lot of love for her through me. It was wonderful.

Thinking about it this morning, I saw an analogy of a stone thrown into a still pond where the ripples go out to the edge. My love for my mom may have been the biggest and first, but theirs were present as well. The accident gave them the opportunity to show us just how deep their love for us was.

Opportunities to love one another through suffering are all around us.

* - Cursillo is a life-changing movement within the Catholic Church designed to make us better Christians.