Other Side

This is a picture of my sister's old college roomie, Cara. Even though she is more my sister's friend than mine, she has always brought me much laughter and joy. She recently tied the knot with her knight in shining armor and has been chronicling the events of their first year of marriage online through her blog. Mostly hilarious and always insightful, hers is quite possibly the blog I frequent most often. (Sorry, Ty.) With her permission, it is her thoughts I post below. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Thanks, Cara. It is a blessing to hear your heart.

"The other day, I was in the play room at the hospital when a Speech Therapist came in and asked if I could go spend some time with one of her patients. As far as I can tell, this little one was recently paralyzed from the neck down and has yet to regain his ability (or perhaps willingness) to speak. His grandmother had to leave him and he was having a hard time. I sat down and began to read him The Little Engine That Could. It seemed like the right story for a child with such a long road ahead of him.

Do you remember The Little Engine That Could? I thought I did too. But it is worth picking up every once and a while to refresh. There is a cargo truck whose engine broke down. And the deal is that she was filled with wonderful things to share with the children on the other side of the hill but didn't have all that it took to get where she needed to be. She had wonderful things to share, but just needed some help to be able to do so.

Sounds like every woman I know.

And so she did what only a woman would . . . she began to ask for help. For a partner. Someone to do their part so she could do hers.

Here come the men . . .

They all had the strength that she needed. But some did not like the looks of her. She wasn't fancy enough. Some were too self-focused to even look at her and they just assumed she was not good enough to give their strength to. Others had the strength but had lost hope and did not believe they could help. So they went back to the engine house to be alone.

And finally, here came a little blue engine. Not the biggest or the most experienced, but capable and willing. It was not an easy task for the little engine. I mean, that cargo car had A LOT of baggage to carry over the hill. But he was committed to making it work. He believed that the gifts the car had to share with the children were worth getting over the hill. He believed that he could do it. And really, that was all it took to help the cargo train filled with amazing gifts to get to the other side of the mountain."