WHAT’S IN THE WATER at SISTAH’S HOME?
I’m again gazing upon one of my more favorite bodies of water – Lake Michigan. It’s early in the morning, and from here on the 11th floor of Mercy Hospital, the blues and greens are exquisite. The clouds are puffy and vibrant and big poofs of them appear to be riding atop long flying carpet type lower clouds. The waves, always rolling on and on, weren’t too high even though I could see tree branches swaying in my view. Being around the site of the water was enough to soothe my soul. I felt at one with the universe immediately, peacefulness hit me like a great hug of comfort. I found myself taking long, deep breaths automatically and exhaling all the tension.
As I dream and plan more for Sistah’s Home – the Place of Love in Action!, this early morning view substantiated my choice of ” type of place” for this global destination. Sistah’s Home is an “Opulent Waterfront Resort/Campus in Chicago”. Water is so soothing and symbolic. Its’ forever moving quality is much like life to me. It goes on, whether you’re ready or not. The continuous order of the waves being connected to the one in front and also to the one in back is a marvelous sight to contemplate on. Symbolically, I can see how we people are always eternally connected. As a wave myself, I think of the ancestors at my back and the young people in the front. Even while I am a middle wave my vibrancy is important to the order. Each of us will have our own spikes of high and low, but we will all keep moving. Though a wave passes from view and you cannot see the ones coming on tomorrow, there is for me, far-reaching value in reflecting, meditating and visualizing before the water. Waterfront access and views are one the natural kinds of gifts Sistah’s Home deserves – comfort, solace and peace.
I’ve been at Mercy Hospital with my mom, Mrs. Doris Love Redic, for a couple of days now, but I can say that the prayers and expressions of love have been nothing short of miraculous in their results. Mom is being tested from head to toe and we should know in a few days what both she and I can do. Praise God that I can see improvement and she can feel improvement. Most of us know how it hurts to see people in pain and more especially when it’s a loved one. I am trusting she will be strong enough to continue the quality of life that she desires and selfishly the quality of life that she has given to me. She’s my “shero”, the first teacher of love and exemplary role model on how important family and friends are.
I was asked in a recent conversation if my mom was proud of me for bringing forth my dream. I could only answer that we had never talked about it that way. We have been living this dream personally all of my life – a place where people are welcome, they could leave those troublesome situations they cared to talk about with people who valued their privacy and offered help and hope to them in the ways we could. My grandmother and great-grandmother were the same type of women, so by the time I came along, they had put together societies and associations to help people. My mother always had an open door and even though there were six of us siblings, we invariably had someone else in our home. We were taught how to offer hospitality even though we sometimes had to share really cheap fare. You just had to make it appealing and delicious. We had to be respectful of the age and situation of the people visiting. You didn’t get to declare “this is mine” if someone needed it more. If there was some disgruntlement or disagreement you had better hide it. At no time could you make a guest feel unwelcome or uncomfortable.
Sistah’s Home – the Place of Love in Action! is for me an expansion of what I already do. I won’t have to learn how to “be” in this arena. I will continue to grow in my learning how to extend Hospitality, Hope and Help to larger groups of people but the tenets are the same – give your best, be authentic and sincere in dealing with people and always operate in love. You can’t go wrong. The waves in the waters around Sistah’s Home are affirmations that this is so.
I invite you to join me as I unveil the details of this wonderful place of sisterhood. Click the link below see your personal invitation and the details for joining me on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 from 8AM until 10AM at 9208 S. Cottage Grove, Chicago, Illinois.
Cider Enterprises Book Club 