Date night with my husband of 16 years this time was extra special. Live music in the park near our home, so close we decided to walk. A beautiful, balmy summer night. I held in my heart a new appreciation of life since hearing the possibility of an ovarian cancer diagnosis up ahead.
That night I was feeling good and feeling pretty wearing a little black dress. I decided to make it a night to remember with my husband, as if it were one of our last together. When we arrived at the park we decided to make our way up to the stage for a front row view for the opening song. I could see the veins in the hands of the performers. I could feel the vibration of the stage.
After the first set we made our way to the ice cream truck. With sweet treats in hand, I turned to my husband and whispered, “remember when we got ice cream at our favorite place on the beach and then you asked me to marry you?”
A smile spread across his face. The ice cream tasted delicious. After taking our last bites of the sweet cake cones, I took his hands in mine and we began to dance. He twirled me underneath the summer moon.
The concert was part of the artist Ani DiFranco’s “Revolutionary Love” summer tour. The large crowd reflected the love she gave us back onto the stage and all around us, like a prism of reflected love.
As I write this today many months later, all is well and all manner of things shall be well. But back in early August, I was still in that personal place of waiting to see the gynecological oncologist, and I realized I had a choice to make. I could choose to be frozen in fear, or I could choose to be set free in love.
I’d like to say that I chose love, but in truth, love chose me. Blessed love, a love that is revolutionary because it’s freeing. A blessed love from the divine that says no matter what, you are loved. That summer night, I embraced the possibility that blessed love is real and somehow I was lucky enough to be found by it.
Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund 