"You are My witnesses," says the Lord,
"and My servant whom I chose..."
-- Isaiah 43:10
Luis, one of my students at the assisted living community where I teach, died Wednesday. His wife, Alicia, was always dragging him to yoga. Luis always seemed a little overwhelmed -- but he was so sweet about it that if he minded he never let on.
I learned about Luis when I arrived Thursday morning for our weekly class. I didn't expect to see Alicia, of course, but to my surprise she came to practice some yoga.
Sometimes she was okay. Sometimes I could see the shock wash over her. A few times she smiled at me. Sometimes she was crying. But clearly she wanted to be there.
I've heard the saying, "About 80 percent of life is just showing up."
Watching this tiny woman who had just lost her husband make her way into the room, take her chair, stretch her arms and chant with all of us shifted something inside me that morning.
I can't really describe it in words but it has something to do with grace and having the sense that I was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. I felt so incredibly honored to be part of some activity she wanted to do that morning. When I went to hug her after class, she cried more and thanked me over and over again.