relief
The streets were crowded in that early evening of mid December in Ahmadabad, India. The court order for custody of my daughter had been signed. We crossed the treacherous threshold to the ashram and wound our way to the entrance for that last visit. My daughter would be soon in my full time care and no longer a ward of the State of Gujarat. For six months I had jokingly told the lawyer there that when the order for Ahsha’s custody was signed, the heavens would cry for joy and Gujarat would get its rain. The monsoon had been virtually nonexistent that year. As we entered the dimly lit ashram from the gently falling rain, a clap of lightening descended with a thunderous roar and all went black in those halls of Odhav. Suddenly, candles arrived as we were escorted to the Superintendant’s office. Mosquitoes, drawn by the candle light, were so thick I had to cover my mouth and nose with one hand while signing the release papers with the other. In the candle glow, my daughter, wrapped in a blanket I had purchased for her six months prior, was handed to me. I held her close as tears of joy streamed down my face in gratitude that we were finally together. As we drove away from the ashram, the rain pummeled the packed earth, quenching its thirst. We soon arrived at the home of our host to the exclamation of a neighbor in the doorway, shouting with arms raised to heaven; “all of India is blessed because of this child.” Although much more had to be accomplished, the expression of gratitude and blessing that evening would serve as fuel for the journey that lie ahead. Faith, hope, and love have sustained through the years as God’s mercy and grace have been poured out.
Yesterday, the sun shone brightly on the fields and forest canopy. Birds flittered carefree from limb to grassy patch to barnyard perch. Gracie, the Golden Retriever pup assumed the role of harvester as she pranced proudly across the lawn with a fresh pair in her jaws. Agnes, the barnyard Pyrenees lopped proudly through her grassy kingdom, plopping abruptly in the shade beneath the white oak tree. Today, the clouds have insinuated themselves between our stretch of earth and the brightly shinning sun giving light to the autumn hues. The rain has pounded down to temporarily soak the thirsty soil as birds and other animals have secured their waiting position. Soon the storm will pass and sun will once again rein with its radiant shower of warmth. Sometimes the storms of disease symptoms appear and drive away the glow of pain tolerant, agile and precise movements. Like the passing storms, experience gives evidence that these sometimes testy symptoms are only temporary visitors to the landscape of otherwise healthy living. I have learned to never take for granted neither the bright sunny day nor the symptom absent moment on the journey. Clouds and rain are a part of earth’s natural replenishing design; neither is the whole of earth’s experience. Fortunately, for most that experience PD symptom expression, those symptoms are not the total of our lives. Maintaining a healthy perspective embraces the reality of the sun and the rain as a part of the life giving cycle. Living well with chronic disease embraces the presence and absence of symptoms, neither defining nor limiting one’s person-hood. Thankfulness for the moments of sunshine gives substance that endures the passing storm.