I can't recall her name, or the year. But I do remember the seminar, and I do recall what she said. It was the among the most courageous words I'd heard to date.

She stood while she spoke to the others of us, some 200 men and women sitting in straight-backed chairs in a Hyatt Regency in the City. We all listened intently and we listened without judgment as she spoke through a shivering, tear-filled face. A power from her soul emerged, at first barely audible, then it boomed from her abdomen as her back straightened and her weepy expression gained a resolve.

I can't say that I agreed with her. No, it's not that I did. I don't know that I would have approached her problem as she did. That is truly beside the point. Her stand was strong, undeniably committed to the joy of God, so much so, that those of us who would judge her simply observed the judgment melting away.

Her husband stood across the room as she spoke. The pain was visible in his demeanor, yet so was the love spilling from him into the room. He stood in silent acknowledgment of his queen while she defined the terms of her commitment to him to the group. I ached with each word, and gasped with each tremor. She was so committed to her love-man that she would divorce him to reinstate the joy in their lives. So stale and empty had their marriage become. So hard had they attempted to work through the issues. So long had they labored, that they had torn apart their union.

It was in her stand that their union was made whole again, and her commitment to their marriage became fulfilled. I am reminded again, it is not about bodies and their proximity to each other that makes a union. It is acknowledging the union of love that lives in the instant. This instant. The now. That is what unites. Love circumvents time and space, rendering each unnecessary in order to achieve what it is we truly seek.

So it is I recall her courage when I observe my life now. I'm enrolled in the course: Union 101. And this week, I've pulled my first A.

A friend of mine from years ago had a favorite saying. "It's no person, place or thing." I didn't know at the time that the words are from AA. Never mind the source, it was he who chose to see the wisdom of that statement and bring it to me. He was my teacher, and that was his message. Today, in that one little line, I'm gaining the universe.

I've taken the stand for joy. I'm not attempting to fix anything. To move. To go anywhere, or be anyone other than who I am. I'm not vying to bring anything to me, or to buy anything that will make it work out. I'm not manipulating the physical universe in order to have anything. Truthfully? I don't know what's good for me anyway! I just know when something hurts. The stand I took was a simple choice. I chose joy instead of pain. Faith instead of fear. Love instead of make-wrong.

I gave notice at my work that paid very well, with no alternative job. I have great respect for the company for which I work, but I was miserable in the job. In addition, I wanted desperately to be near my grandchild. Fear gripped me at the throat immediately after I'd given notice. At last, Spirit was there in the night to comfort me, bringing loving dreams to me, and I awoke with a super-sense of well-being.

Today alone knocked my socks off: I received a call from my company's Minneapolis office, of all places, offering to discuss the possibilities of my working out of Minneapolis and telecommuting (residing) in Colorado so that I could be near my grandchild. This, because I had acknowledged a Minneapolis friend for his commitment to his wife and children. I received two job offers in Santa Cruz, California for the same company for which I work, both of which would allow me time off right from the start to be with my grandchild. My daughter called me from Colorado and asked me if I would like to be with my grandchild for 2 weeks, and her father, my ex-husband, called and said he would bring the baby to me after his trip there, and that he had an extra airline ticket for me so I could take our baby to her home/Mom again. I was given an unsolicited recommendation from a high-level manager of my firm for a writing position in town. When I got home from work, grinning from ear-to-ear, I listened to a message on my machine saying that a CEO of a top software firm needs an assistant, and he wants me to start in the morning!

This is just the start. What a start! Tomorrow, I'll be wading through a maze of choices, leaning on Holy Spirit at every turn, and eager to share with you a next episode.

I am testimony to a truth: It behooves us all to take our stands for joy. If you've not done so in your own lives, I invite you to jump in. A miracle awaits us at every turn.

Bless you all.

---© Glenna Heller