Spirit and Health: The Gift of Grace

During today's lunch hour, while waiting for my pizza to arrive at the La Vera Pizza Stand in downtown Santa Rosa, CA, I decided to speak with the elderly woman sitting on the park bench nearby. She was thin and lanky with long hair tied in a pony tail and enough barrettes to outfit a whole class room of school girls. She had a scowl on her dark wrinkled face, but my ex-boyfriend Chris had taught me that street people often had wisdom to share and could even make good friends. So I struck up a conversation, asking her if she'd lived in this city long. Her reply matched her scowl. She said she hated this town, that the people were not half as nice as in Monterey where she was from. I remarked that Monterey was quite a nice place and she began to open up to me.

She told me about being one of nine children of Portugues background. Two of her siblings had committed suicide and many of the others had passed naturally, one only a couple days ago. She spoke of others much younger who had passed, and how she didn't like the place she lived because they stole her food. She remarked that there were some nice people in Santa Rosa though, such as the La Vera pizza guy who had brought her some food that day. I watched her changing expressions and the movements of some deeply etched wrinkles that told her story, both a life of suffering and yet also some real glimmer of hope and light. When she remarked that she was eighty six years old I replied that she looked quite fit for such an age. She told me that she had just been to the doctor and told that she was in perfect health, nothing wrong with her. She was eager then to tell me her secret. She used to suffer from many health problems, but had visited a pool of holy water that had been blessed by God. She attributed her health and healing to the blessing put on that water by God. "What a miracle!" I replied. This woman was clearly one of devoted faith, faith so deep she was able to present a healthy healed body at the ripe age of eighty six. Just then a passerby yelled to her, "Hello Grace!"

Grace's name struck me as an entirely perfect fit. Despite her losses in life, Grace was a recipient of so many blessings, from the simple hello of friends on the street, to free food from restaurant folk, to the miracle of God's healing through holy water. She was a perfect reminder to me that to those who have faith, life brings many graces, including those of health and healing.

If you would like to share your stories of healing grace or to learn more about health care that takes into account the connection between mind, body and spirit visit http://www.santarosa-acupuncture.com. You can also call Kat Delse, L.Ac. at (707) 775-8311 to set up an appointment to begin your healing journey.