Some years ago, to fulfill a birthday wish, three friends and I went ice skating at Rockefeller Center in NYC. To be clear, this was not my wish. I don’t skate, not in the truest sense of the word. But I do love my friends and I do hate missing out, so I bundled up and came along. While one of the four of us (wisely, I felt) observed from the sidelines, the other two and I laced up and ventured out onto the ice.
My goal from the start was simple. I wanted to get to the end of the day without breaking any bones. Take it nice and easy, make a few rotations, call it a day.
My skating companions, by contrast, had no apprehensions. As kids, they had logged in years of skating, so the ice was a familiar friend, one they greeted with real pleasure. They circled the ice with ease, chatting and smiling as I edged, focused, around the perimeter of the rink.
One successful rotation. Two. Three.
I began to breathe easier, and felt fleetingly optimistic.
But then SOMEone—some unobservant SOMEone—skated right in my path. I had no alternative but to let go of my secure place on the edge and drift toward the center of the rink. It was either that or plow into the unaware skater in front of me.
Set adrift suddenly, my stomach knotted, my hands got clammy, and all my senses went on high alert. Just recalling it makes me queasy again. I felt certain wipeout was imminent, and marveled I would have ever expected anything else.
In that very moment, as I glanced helplessly about, what did I feel but two strong arms take my elbows, one on either side. It was my Real Skater friends. They had seen my predicament and had come to help me.
To this day, I can physically feel the sense of relief that flooded me. It went through me completely. I leaned into their strength as they propelled me to a place of calm and safety by the side. Which is where I stayed!
These past couple weeks you have been Real Skater friends to me, a viscerally comforting presence under each arm. Your cards, emails, phone calls, texts all have had the same effect of relief. God is sustaining our family. And He is using you to do it. Thank you for being there.
