I got to spend another day with Linda! And was rewarded with this big smile... Yes. Linda is getting stronger and stronger. She is working towards her rehabilitation process to wean her from the ventilator. But that is not why I am writing today. I want to tell you about how I met Linda and why I am supporting her during this healing process. In 2007 I arrived at the the Abbey. Thats what many people have come to know Lindas home as. Linda is, of course, the Abbess. It is not for nothing that her home is called the Abbey. Being there and watching folks come and go, the names begin to make sense. A place a refuge and healing, steeped in prayer, open to all who arrive with open hearts seeking refuge and healing. The magic there is hard to define and yet create a visceral experience. I arrived in 2007, broken bruised and bleeding. It was not my first time at the Abbey. Although in past visits I knew nothing of this legacy of healing. I had visited several times for prayer meetings. I had prayed with Linda, shook her hand, eaten at her table. But I did not know her that well. Despite not knowing her, I knew her reputation and when I arrived in 07 had no intention of staying very long. In 2006, I had lost my home. My wife had left with our two children and returned to her home in Austria. I was divorced, had not a penny, my truck needed a new transmission... if I had had a dog, it probably would have been dead. My long term friend and brother had offered me a job in Española. He arranged for me to stay with Linda in Chimayo until I found my own place. There I was, heartbroken and penniless, at the threshold of someone I feared would only try to take more from me, humbling requesting a bed to lie my head on. I ended up living at the Abbey for over four years. Linda took me in. She fed me. She listened to me. She counseled me. She let me live in the casita at the end of the property. We went to the movies. We went out to eat. We talked and talked about Life the Universe and Everything. We became very close friends. Linda gave me space to lay down a bleed for awhile. She always listened to me talk about my pain, but never let me cross into whining. She offered suggestions, but never preached. She showed compassion, but never pitied me. If I needed to disappear into the casita for days on end, she never questioned me. She would simply show up after a suitable time and ask if I wanted to come over to her house for some posole. Then maybe we would watch a movie, or she might tell me old stories about Martin Fingernail, or Ike DeVargas. She taught me about disability and in so doing, helped me understand what able-bodied really meant. Through our friendship I learned the difference between disability and able-bodied and how it is irrelevant to how we relate as people in this life. When I was at my lowest point, Linda was able to reach out and help prop me up. I dont think I ever really realized how she was helping me until after I had left the Abbey. During that time, the very low rent allowed me to visit my kids in Austria several times a year. Her good food and kind words helped me to regain some of my confidence. She never pushed me, but never relented. Her faith in me was ten fold the faith I had in myself at that time. I will be forever grateful for our friendship and how Linda showed me so much about love in action. I am by no means the first person she has helped. Just looking through her history, one can imagine the other folks that have been helped out by Linda. As well as the hundreds I witnessed come through the Abbey while I was there. Some were able to share a meal. Some a prayer. Some just needed a place to sleep for a few nights. Some would spend hours and hours in Lindas room, talking, listening, crying, laughing. So much healing happening. Not everyone responds well to Lindas ways. She is a brass tacks kinda gal. She is not known to take bullshit in any form. For some people, her style can be very difficult to reconcile. But those ones dont seem to stick around very long. Linda likes to call herself, Ms. Unpopularity. There is some truth to that... At this time, while she is laying in a hospital bed learning to breathe on her own again, I feel so grateful that I have an opportunity to give something back to Linda. She has been blessed in so many way in this life and has done her best to share her blessings with as may folks as possible. And this is my chance to give directly to her. Only for her. To support her and her son through this healing process. I feel incredibly honored to be present for her at this time. Thank you Linda. For all that you have done for me and for everyone else in our community. And thank you to all who are helping us support Linda at this time. The only way out is through. And with all our hands together, we will be able to see Linda home. To assist the Abbess in her return to the Abbey. With Love, Scott Davis
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 05:02:20 +0000
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