Embrace Me
Page 28
Yes, it is. “If you want me to pray with you, we can walk together.” I concentrate on the oatmeal as she wipes down the sink.
Side-by-side we enter the gathering room, sit on the sofa, and pick up our prayer books.
I look up. Her face is bare. “Did you take your scarf off in the kitchen, Val? Want me to go get it for you?”
“Nah. I think I’ll give my face a trial run inside here.”
“That’s more than okay with me.”
She opens to the day’s prayers. “I’ve known that for a while, Gus.”
And the morning sun shines upon us. Just as we are.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thankfully, these days there are other more humane and dignified ways to provide for the disabled, so you’d have a hard time finding human oddities like Valentine and Lella on display. Please forgive me a little stretching of the way things are in order to explore the metaphor of Christ’s Body, His Church, in a deeper way.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks:
To Ami and Allen and the entire fiction gang at Thomas Nelson—I appreciate you all for extending the freedom I needed to write this unusual tale. Your support and attention warms my soul. To Erin—you know what to do! To Rachelle—wow, this one provided you with heavier work. But let’s hope it was worth it in the end.
To Phil Smith—for the book and for letting me know I wasn’t the only person with an interest in human marvels.
To my friends and family, especially Will, Ty, Jake, and Gwynnie—I love and appreciate you all. And Will, thanks for helping me with the male voice.
To the people who have shown me the life of New Monasticism, this book could definitely have never been written without you. Particularly the people in my own intentional community, Communality, as well as those in The Simple Way.
To my readers—thanks for your love and support over the years! Please e-mail me at lisa@lisasamson.com.
And to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who made and makes us all.