Care

Hello and welcome to Beauty – the no-nonsense, no-frills podcast about all things beauty. True beauty. God’s beauty. I am your host and Lemongrass Spa consultant, Deanna. Do you guys have a practice of reading regularly? I know some people who are like me and just love to read. If I could quit my jobs and sit immersed in books all day, I would be in heaven. But then there are people, like my brothers and my children, who aren’t so fond of reading. I feel like you either find it useful or you don’t. Some people read to get lost in story. Others, like myself, read to learn. I usually don’t read fiction, not a lot anyway. I prefer books that will edify me in some way. Right now, I am reading, “The Road to Daybreak” by Henri Nouwen. It is basically a book about his own spiritual journey. As a professor at Yale and then Harvard, he felt something was missing in his life and he ended up quitting his job and moving to France to live and work with a handicapped community. He shares many stories about his experiences in France and some thoughts that have really made me sink deep into my own. One of the stories he shared was about balancing the need to do a job well and still be mindful of the needs of the handicapped people he served. He wrote: “I found this out myself this afternoon when I went apple picking with Janice, Carol, Adam, Rose, and their assistants. My attitude was to get the apples picked, put them in bags, and go home. But I soon learned that all of that was much less important than to help Rose pick one or two apples, to walk with Janice looking for apples that hang low enough so that she herself can reach them, to compliment Carol on her ability to find good apples, and just to sit beside Adam in his wheelchair under an apple tree and give him a sense of belonging to the group. We finally collected four bags of apples, but eight people took more than an hour to do it. I could have done the work in half an hour. But efficiency is not L’Arche’s most important word. Care is.” Does that hit you hard the way it hit me? I haven’t stopped thinking about it. What a wonderful reminder for us to slow down and think about other people. Think about their needs. Allow them to have an experience. Bring them into the conversation. Offer them a seat at the table. I could have used that reminder in my younger parenting years – and, honestly, still now with a teenager. I can use that reminder in my marriage, with my friends, at work, while at the dreaded grocery store, at a busy restaurant – everywhere. People are important and the way we care for them looks different in each situation. But in order to care for someone, we have to slow down and consider what their needs might be. What does that look like in a busy world? I’ve got a few ideas, but I sure would love to hear your thoughts on this one. What does it look like to slow down and care for someone in your world? Comment below or on one of my social media pages! Okay, because I care about you – I want to make sure you are aware we launched a new product catalog at Lemongrass, and I want to give you permission to linger with it a while. 😉 I have a VIP group where I am revealing the new products little by little. It is also the place where I offer all the deals and discounts. I love to give things away. I love to offer free shipping and reduced prices – just because. The line-up for March is spectacular in my group – with new products, March Madness, my 50th birthday, and a chance to win a FREE 60-minute massage. So, my VIP group is definitely the place to be! It is a great space for you to take advantage of some great deals, but also to slow down and linger with some thoughts. See you soon… D 😀 Get full access to Shining.Our.Light at deannakohlhofer.substack.com/subscribe