As It Should Be

So much in my life hasn't been as it should be these last twelve weeks, since the collision that totalled my van and took me on a major detour. But the Friday of spring break, that changed slightly, if only for a few hours. You see, a friend of a friend from out of state happened to be in town for some tests in the medical center at the same time that I was down there. 

Coincidence or God wink?

So I got her cell number from that friend and called her to see if she wanted some company. As it turned out, she would be finished with her appointment at almost the exact same time that I was finishing up with mine and that just so happened to be time to eat. So we arranged a meet-up and my driver (this time it was the hubs!) and I picked her up and whisked her away to LePeep, our favorite place to eat in Rice Village, where we enjoyed a tasty brunch and an engaging chat about life before heading north to the airport so that she could catch her plane back home. 

Here's an excerpt from her reflections about it:

A friend of a friend picked me up after my appointment today and treated me to lunch and a ride to the airport. In this busy world we live in, almost perfect strangers came and picked me up and took me to lunch and dropped me at the airport - that, my friends, is what we're supposed to be doing - helping one another.

And though it may seem like we were the ones doing her a favor, in an ironic twist as we hugged farewell, I found myself thanking her, for letting us take her to lunch and give her a ride to the airport. The gift, I remember thinking, was as much (or maybe even more?) mine as it was hers. After two months of people helping me, the tables turned and I got to help someone else. 
Don't let that quote above mislead you; 
this new friend has more strength than I could ever hope to have.  

And helping her felt incredibly healing!
That's as it should be.