I know that look...

...and this time I caused it.

I was out with some friends the other night, and at the end of the evening I noticed that my longtime mentor had a all too familiar look on is face. I had inadvertently embarrassed him by boasting at his accomplishments in a certain areas of his life. No gutter thoughts here. He is a very spiritual man and I often find myself envious on just how much he trusts his faith. He may doesn't often talk it, but he damn sure walks it.

So, I walked up and said something like, "have I offended you?" He said, "No, you embarrassed me."

This is one of the last people on the face of the earth that I would ever want to offend, embarrass, upset, etc. I asked his forgiveness and told him I would endeavor to not have a repeat performance of this event. I also called him this morning to make sure that there was nothing else that could be done to set it right. End result, we're fine, thankfully.

That look, though, has been haunting me for the past couple of days. I have seen a lot of it lately, but it was just beyond my grasp for pulling it into focus. That is until I had a conversation in the grocery store last night with a scared, embarrassed homeowner. She saw my name-tag, and had a few questions.

At the end of the day, she really is everything that is not broken within the system. She did not buy beyond her means, did not buy on the come, and really thought this would be her home for a long, long time. However, life has gotten in the way, and the market downturn has her facing scenarios that she never thought she might. She is lucky in the sense that she does not have to make an immediate decision, and can weigh all her options in a clear, educated fashion. That, however, does not mitigate her feelings about the situation.

Seeing that look when there is nothing I have done to cause it, or can correct in myself to solve it really is gut-wrenching. I can, however, do what my mentor has done with me and stand by her and walk the road together for a while. I know this sounds trite, but it is amazing how quickly that look can go away when we do not feel all alone in this thing.

I do not know what the final outcome will be in this deal, or if I will be one of the parties involved. But, if asked, I will be there step for step for as long as I need to be.