Kiki and Our Saving Graces

I was maybe 8 years old when our next-door neighbor Kiki came over during our parents backyard party. A late 20-something, she mingled with our 30-somethings parents easily. I remembered her smile - it was big. She was lovely. At some point, Kiki showed the party what she could do on a trampoline. She did a massive flattened back-flip and I yelled in approval. Kiki was cool.

But Kiki showed herself to me to be more than cool. At one point, Kiki became a saving figure in my life. A guiding light. A ray of hope. A comfort. A Good Samaritan.

It was the 4th of July. Our parents had had another backyard shin-dig with lots of friends, hand-held fireworks and sprinkler running. I woke in the early morning to my dog jumping on my bed. My eyes opened, and to my left, above the bed where my sister slept, flames were reaching through the window and into our room. I screamed for my mom and dad, who sprinted into the room and quickly rushed us and our dogs out of the house.

My next memory of that night was at Kiki’s house. We sat on a couch near a window that faced our burning home. My sister was crying, Kiki brought big blankets. We watched, us three, and my parents rushed around the house trying to salvage what they could.

I thought about Kiki today. She was a 25 year old. 26 maybe. She lived alone. She didn’t have children. And yet she was a saving grace to me and my sister that night. Bringing solace. Warmth. She didn’t hide the reality of the night from us. Instead, she sat on her couch with us at 2AM, waiting out a tragedy with two small kids. She was WITH us. And truly, that night it was all I needed.

She was a saving grace.

Why do we think it’s so hard to serve people? Sometimes I think we believe it’s out of reach - you need more time, more holiness, more of whatever it is that saints have to truly love people well. But what if you just need to BE THERE? Just show up. Just sit with someone in their time of need.

Kiki played an integral role, I would say a crucial role for my sister and I that night. She shielded us enough from the pain by bringing comfort. She gave us a home as our burned. She gave us a blanket as ours were out of reach. I wonder if she knows that decades later, I’m thinking of her. And I’m grateful.

May you bring grace that saves someone today. May you know your presence is powerful, and that YOU are JUST what the moment needs. - J