Giving Space

I can't remember if I have ever blogged about this, but I want to tell you how proud I am of my husband. My husband, the man who couldn't say no to anyone in need.

My best friend and I fell out of touch for a bit because her husband was friends with my ex boyfriend and I didn't want to see him and he was always around their house. So, I only saw her a couple times a year for a year or two. It was much more complicated then that, but I will stop there.

Anyway, one night she knocks on our door (I was married for about a year then) and asks if she can spend the night. She had been crying and said she was leaving her husband and didn't want to go to any of her friends that she knew he knew she might go to. I was actually touched she thought of me and she stayed for six months while the divorce went thru. She gave us rent money and food money and had no problem with cleaning chores. Yes, it was cramped but it was okay. She has since remarried very happy and has a son. We have built on our friendship and she has been a wonderful support since I lost Jim.

This happened again years later in our marriage. We had a woman we pretty much barely knew come to live in our finished basement for almost a year. She was in her 60's, had no children, belonged to our church and her husband had died, she lost her house and literally had no where to go. She moved into the basement with all of her belongings. I mean it was jam packed and looked like a hoarders room. It wasn't, it was just all her stuff. She did give us some rent money but not for a couple months. She did however cook dinner for us. That was nice and to help someone in need, well, we didn't have kids, we had the space that wasn't being used, so Jim said "why not?".

I have tried to continue that giving spirit but I think he did it so unconsciously it is hard to duplicate.