Tags
A Quiet Place With God, angst, Bible, Calm, Christianity, Faith, God, Healing, Licorice, Loss, Psalms, Religion and Spirituality, Sadness
A well dressed gentlemen walked past me in the library.
His perfectly polished cordovan dress shoes were in contrast to a strong alcohol odor passing by and nauseating me.
Liquor seeped out of his skin on a Sunday afternoon.
I was just relaxing catching up on the latest periodicals, but another story began to unfold in my mind.
Sadness so unbearable some turn to old vices.
My old vice was candy, especially black licorice.
Blue after visiting with a grieving dear friend, I bought a box.
A strange calm arrived as I bite into the chewy, salty, tart sweet.
Perhaps this well-groomed young man had suffered a loss of some kind.
When the dark angst hits go outside and read the psalms beginning at 100.
Read out loud till you hit 107 verse 20.
He saved them from their distress.
He sent His word and healed them;
He rescued them from the Pit. Psalm 107 v. 20 HCSB
You packed this short piece with rich sensory detail. The cordovan shoes and the licorice. Wow. And then to find yourself relating to him, comparing the vice of licorice and that craving for its texture and the way your body response…with the vice of his craving for alcohol. So unexpected, but so humbling.
Thank you for your encouragement Ann. Wondering if he had been at a visitation or even a memorial service.