I woke up this morning thinking about a friend of mine, who wrote last night on her Facebook last night, "Sitting next to my brave sister." This sister has cancer.

I started thinking about the word sit. It's not something we do much, or we do too much. Now, most of us work in front of computers, tablets, or desks, and we sit. Some studies show sitting too much is killing us. Google has bouncy balls and creative chairs to help computer programmers as they sit. I actually have a ton of pain sitting to long, and have to get out, walk, run, swim, cycle, stand on my head, or do something every day that I sit and study/read/write.

But sitting with a friend, brother or sister, parent or any other loved one, that is something else. Sentarse is the verb for sit, Sentir is the verb for feel or emotion in Spanish, strangely enough, they are very similar in sound, which just one phoneme differenciating them.

And I think, sometimes, they are close to one and the same. Job's friends sat with him, and felt with him, even though they tried to rationalize his pain, and that's why the story of Job is so sad. His loss is immense, but his friends accusations take up the bulk of the book, and that's what makes is so powerfully sad, and when God comes at the end, He too "sits" with Job, but insteads show Job His creation, and care.

So, perhaps sitting and feeling with someone is one of the more powerful things we can do, either positive or negative. Although far away, today, I am sitting with my friend, and I want her to know I feel her sadness, even from far away. I love you Mel.