My beautiful friend Christie stopped by the other day with a jar of homemade cookies and a pocket full of hope.

Christie’s husband served her with divorce papers last fall… at a Starbucks. After he left, after she cried in the bathroom for awhile, she went up to the counter to order another drink. The man at the cash register had overheard everything, and when he saw her tearstained face he opened up his wallet and pulled out a simple silver ring. “Here,” he told her. “This was given to me when I went through something similar, and now I’d like to pass it on to you.” Christie told me she wore it on a string around her neck for months- that sometimes, on the difficult days, it was the only thing that kept her moving through the hurt. I was so touched by Christie’s story, amazed that a complete stranger who had witnessed one of the most painful moments in her life had enough courage and compassion to reach out and help her heal. There is such beauty in that.

As I was shaking my head at the wonder of what she had told me, Christie reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring tied to a black piece of string. “It gave me hope when I needed it the most,” she said. “And now I want you to have it.” She placed the it in the palm of my hand and told me to look at what was written on the outside of the ring. It says: TRUE LOVE WAITS.

And then, with the deep female wisdom that is forced upon a woman who walks through her pain, Christie looked at me and said, “I’m not sure who I’m supposed to be waiting for to show up and love me, but I have a funny feeling that it might actually be me.”

What a gift this woman is to me.