I hadn’t thought of it this way.  “We’re all just walking each other home.”   The words resonated with me as I reflected on the journey I had walked with Jerry during the last months and weeks of his life.  And, as I thought about Eric’s journey with Lynne through her final days on this earth.  We walked them home.

Our presence with them made the journey a little less frightening………helped them feel a little less alone.  Only God could truly comfort their souls, but we were an extension of His love to them.  We walked them home.

Most of us have had the experience of walking somewhere unfamiliar, in the dark.  Even though we knew we would eventually arrive at a safe place, we would have welcomed the company of a trusted friend along the way.  As a child, when kids still played outside after dark, we sometimes took turns walking each other home.

It’s an act of love to walk someone home……sacrificial love at times.  You set aside your own needs, not out of obligation.  It comes from a deeper place. A place of knowing this is what they need right now.  You know in your heart that what you are doing has deep purpose, no matter how tedious and unglamorous it may seem.

I think we have to realize we are “walking each other home” throughout all of our lives, not just at the end of our days on this earth.  So, let’s be a little kinder to each other along the way……a little less critical, a little more loving.  Life is messy at times.  People can be messy.  But, love transcends the messiness……as we walk each other home.