Sacred Trust

People trust me, children trust me, animals trust me. I am amazed by the trust that even complete strangers have in me. My whole life, people have told me their stories. Through the years, I have begun to understand what is sacred trust.

Sometimes it can overwhelming, this trust that people share with me. It is as though when they share their lives and secrets, I take on their burdens. I do not take this responsibility lightly.

Some nights I cry myself to sleep, thinking of those who have trusted me with things that they would never share with anyone else. I am humbled and honored, but I also pray constantly that

I will never let any of them down.

Rick gets a little freaked out by the experience sometimes. We will be at a concert, at a restaurant. on a plane, at Walmart and people that I have never seen before, share intimate details of their lives. He has finally learned to just find himself a quiet spot and wait until the encounter is over.

I wonder sometimes what draws people to me. There is nothing special about my looks, I think I am fairly ordinary. But I do love people, I believe with all my heart in human kindness and I do my best to live by the Golden Rule. I do know I listen, and maybe that is the secret.

I don't have to talk about myself when I meet someone, I much prefer to listen. Every one has a story, every one has an incredible story,maybe the universe decided to make me a listener.

Sacred trust........I will go to my grave with stories in my heart that were told in faith that I would never share them, and I won't. Some stories break my heart, others make my knees weak and my stomach churn, while others make me feel so blessed.

I believe we all search for some one to trust, some one that we can count on, some one that will not judge or condemn. We all need to believe that there is a human connection out there some where waiting for us to talk. I know that many of us think that we should never share, that to talk things out, is a weakness, it is better to push things inside and just try to forget. But to not

trust, to not share, whatever is inside, sooner or later will fester like an angry boil and make itself known one way or another.....abuse, guilt, shame, fear, illness, resentment, anger, depression.

Through the years, there have been times when I desperately needed someone to talk too, and for what ever reason there was no one there. So all that was held inside, came out......as ulcers,

as anger, as resentment, as fear. So maybe that is it, I understand what it is to need to talk and feel like there is no one there to trust......maybe that is what people feel when they meet me.

I do know, that I have spent my life, trying my best not to judge. It is difficult sometimes to see someone or hear their story and not judge, but I believe that is where the sacred trust comes in.

I believe we are all capable of anything, given the right circumstances, so how can we judge others. So this sacred trust that I feel, I believe it is listening with no judgement. It is understanding that there but by the grace of God is me.

So for all the times, some one has trusted you, feel honored, know that you are blessed. In a world that is spinning faster and faster, when it seems that some days we are all out of control, and you don't have a minute to spare..............

and some one asks you if they can talk, be willing to listen and then lock it in your heart with the key of Sacred Trust.