klavier

waking up extra early on a Sunday to see the clouds so low and threatening rain was not the most pleasant, but nothing could curb my excitement for the reason behind my early rising...Nahum, Aberu's oldest son, invited me to his summer piano recital!

Aberu is always complaining about how hard she works to get him to practice, Nahum is always complaining about having to practice, Alina and I are never complaining whenever we get to hear him practice. He is especially good for being only 9! And today, I got to hear him preform! What a treat. And now you do too...I hope you enjoy!

I met Aberu's husband, Abenezzar and Nahum at their apartment so we could all go together to the piano recital...on the complete opposite side of the city. Aberu called me ahead of time and told me to wait outside for them to come out because Alexander (the youngest who is always hiding from me) had been talking all day about how excited he was that I was coming and that he wanted to go out and play with me, alone, without the other brothers. So sweet...I smiled so wide when I heard this because the way he has always acted when I have been over to visit was as if he was deathly afraid of me! Since he wasn't coming to the piano recital, Aberu was sure he would start screaming and crying if he saw me and then saw me leave with the other boys, so I just waited outside for them to meet me.

Our friendship has been up to now only with Aberu and as I have shared a little bit of her story with you, her relationship with her husband is really disheartening and painful for her. To be honest I was a little weary to go with her husband and the two boys to the concert, but in the end I see how much it was a gift and blessing to also meet her husband, to talk to him about his life, what is beautiful and what is difficult for him, and to really have a vision into the other side of the relationship as well. It was even more clear that being a friend doesn't mean judging the situations in the lives of others, picking sides, having an opinion all the time. Being there with Aberu, being her friend and spending time with her and the boys, being there to listen to her and support her doesn't mean that we are closed off also to charity towards her husband. Isn't that the wonderful thing about charity-it calls you to care for everyone, be open to hearing and loving everyone without having to judge the other or the situation at all times. Charity is only subject to the truth which sometimes calls you to make decisions and judgements, but I find that more often than it simply asks you to act according to the most basic truth--the truth of each person's dignity and value as a human person, and that no matter what they look like, what they do, to you or to another, what they think or struggle with or delight in (these things can be liked or disliked), they always, always deserve the respect and the love that you would give to one you hold dearest.

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. {1 Peter 1:22}