Desiderata A Poetic Reflection: Founder's Corner Blog
Life, like a vast and unpredictable sea, carries its share of storms. Yet my own journey has been graced with blessings too abundant to tally. For years, I wondered why the Highest One poured such goodness into my hands. I knew it was not because I was extraordinary, nor because I had earned such favor. And so, a quiet guilt sometimes shadowed the gifts He laid before me. It still does, on certain days.
Not long ago, in the hush of a medical office waiting room, a lovely Sister entered and settled near the door. Even from across the crowded space, her spirit reached me—gentle, kind, warm. We were the only two Black women in the room, and something in me called out to her. I spoke from afar, but soon crossed the room so I could truly hear her. She held Walk with Jesus in her hands. When I asked about it, she offered her story—and the book itself. I opened to the first chapter, Celebration, and the very first line rose up like a divine whisper: “Accept your gifts without questions.” A message delivered straight to my heart.
Just the day before, I had been reminiscing with one of my precious mentees—now living in Washington State—during a FaceTime call. I told her how a guest recently noticed a gift she had given me years ago, a gift once passed down from her mother as she left for college. It was Desiderata, the poem that hangs in my kitchen beside the fridge, reminding me daily to rest in peace, to know I belong in this world. I had read it again just before meeting the Sister. Desiderata—a Latin plural noun meaning “things wanted, needed, or desired”—begins with the gentle command: “Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.” Its wisdom is timeless, a lantern for living with calm, contentment, and meaning.
One of its teachings—be on good terms with everyone—has long lived in my spirit. Yet I know well that some souls carry sharp edges: unkind, selfish, difficult. I once tried to embrace them all, but the weight was too heavy for my spirit. Now, I simply step away from such energy.
I do not believe in coincidence. I believe the Highest Being places us in one another’s paths with intention—sometimes only to share a smile, a warm hello. When I spoke to the Sister and honored her presence within a single minute of her arrival, I understood why our paths crossed. She needed someone to hold space for her story—a story trembling with concern.
She told me that last year, doctors found a 2.6 ml mass in her left breast, which was surgically removed. A recent 3D digital mammogram showed no sign of cancer. Yet just days before our meeting, her surgeon’s office called her back for an MRI. The fear of that request clung to her. Her husband had passed, and her only child lived far away. She carried her anxiety alone—until she met me.
In that moment, I was reminded: I am blessed to be a blessing. Sometimes the gift we are asked to accept is simply the chance to ease another’s burden with kindness, presence, and love.
In Sisterhood,
Vel
Desiderata – A Poem by Max Erhlmann
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