Silent Comfort

Except for a year or two in college and the 5 years I lived away from my home town, I've attended the same church since I was 15 years old.
If you go somewhere every week, you get to know the people there, even if you never really speak. Some people you know just by their kindness, their warmness, the way they smile at you, the way they look at you like you are family.
But if you never really speak, it can be hard to start a conversation when something really needs to be said.
Today, I wanted to tell this sweet older woman how sorry I am that her husband died.
I don't even remember when I met her and her husband. I was probably in high school. They have always been so kind.
I knew he was sick. He had looked frail for the last year or so, and recently, his name was being read during the prayers for the sick.
I couldn't tell her today how sad I am not to see her husband with her, how happy I am to still see her at church.
But when she smiled and waived at me from a distance, I decided I could go over to her and give her a hug.
Nothing else needed to be said.