Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Connections

Coming up for a little air I realized it has been a while since my last visit to this place.  As it is meant to be, I think. 
You see, Papa is in control and if He doesn't make time for something, I have learned to let it go.  (Most of the time!)  He makes the connections, as He sees fit.

A comment the other day got me to thinking about the subject of connections.  That is what our God is all about....  Connections; in other words - relationships.

A friend had called me for some encouragement, which came, in part, in the form of prayer.
Fast forward a couple of days and a follow up call came in from her.  Papa had resolved the issue for her.  He is good at that.
She thanked me for my part and then made the comment that got me thinking.  She said she knew she should call me, because I am connected.  Oh, she knows that she is connected too, but I am really connected!

Really connected?  In contrast to....??

Webster tells us to be connected is to be linked together; united.
So we are either connected or not.

Applying this to our relationship with the Living God can we be partially connected?  What makes the connection?

Jesus alone makes the connection between us and His Father.
"Now All these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation."  2 Corinthians 5:18
It is a done deal.  One that is complete.  We need but claim it.

A friend was visiting with us this past weekend.  Sergei, who is a Russian pastor.
He shared something that the LORD God had been teaching him.

In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus cursed a fig tree and it immediately withered. 
The disciples questioned how it happened so quickly.
Jesus replied...
."Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it shall happen."
What stood out for our friend was the phrase "if you have faith, and do not doubt".
God had spoken to him about this showing him that often he would pray and then walk away in doubt.

For me the key to not doubting is to know to whom I am bringing all my concerns, hopes and joys.

Whatever we focus on becomes larger. 
There is only One who can never grow too big. 
That One is our God.

Hebrews says we are to "walk by faith, not by sight."
So even though the situations of our lives may look very bleak, we can be encouraged if we turn from that sight and fix our eyes on the One whom our faith is in!

There lies the opportunity to experience the connection we have with Papa.
Once we are enjoying that then we get to carry this Good News to others.
More connections...
Papa is all about that!


Friday, November 1, 2013

Farewell to an Earth Angel

I lost a friend the other day. 
Actually, I lost her over a month ago, but no one told me.

In 1973 I was a single mother, age twenty-two. 
I was clueless.
There was a whole lot of baggage that kept me company as I tried to make sense of life.

Though I loved my son deeply I was ill-equipped to mother him.
His father had shown little interest in him while we were married and even less once we separated and divorced.
I so wanted him to have a father in his life and thus grasped for anyone who would fill that role.
It was not going well.

The little guy had a vivid imagination by the age of three and wove many a tale about his "father".
The daycare workers became concerned over his insistence of these stories being facts not fantasy.
We were referred to a family support organization.

One of the services offered to us was of a "friend" for my son.
Enter Anita.
I had hoped that it would be a male volunteer, but God knew what my son needed.

Anita was forty-three and a mother of three children.
She loved my son at first sight.

Each week she would take him for some sort of outing. 
At first, the pick up and drop off was at the center. 
In time it moved to our home. 
She took my boy to her home on occasion too.

As time continued on we became friends, friends who grew closer and dearer to one another.
She became not only my son's advocate, but mine as well.
I believe that she modeled for me what being a mother looked like.

Anita loved to refer to me as her earth angel, but I truly believe that it was she who was the angel.

Ours was a friendship that could pick up right where we left off no matter how much time had passed.
Neither of us were telephone people, so our calls were all about making plans to meet.

Over twenty-five years ago we moved to Connecticut from New York.  It was also the time that Anita and her retired husband moved to Pennsylvania.
Year after year, including the early part of this year, I would stop and spend a night with her on my way to West Virginia to visit the son we both loved.

My friend was a character.  She was definitely eccentric and much fun!
When I first met Anita I could tell that she wore a wig.
I had all kinds of ideas of why this was the case, but was way off base!
It took a few years before I finally asked her why the wigs.
Her explanation?
She hated to fuss with hair, so kept hers super short and loved that she could simply drop the wig off and go about her business and then pick it up looking tiptop!

For years Anita carried a very interesting "purse".  It was a wooden cigar box that she had attached a leather strap to for a handle.  She had decorated the box with all kinds of jewels.

Anita went to her own drum beat and I loved it!

This summer I had some difficulty reaching her, so I popped a note in the mail, which brought a prompt call from her. 
She was in a convalescent home recovering from thyroid surgery.  She told me that her family felt she was a bit unsteady and wanted her to recovery where she would not be alone.  You see Anita had lived alone the past eleven years since her husband's death.  Her children lived considerable distances away.  Thus the concern.

A few weeks ago I tried to call her, as I would be heading her way and wanted to visit her wherever she might have been.
Her home number was disconnected and she was no longer at the convalescent home.

I kept putting off checking online for any information.
Until the other day.

My sorrow was doubled because I had not been contacted.
I would have wanted to visit her if I had known she was failing and I would have surely attended whatever services there were for her.

Instead of dwelling on this I will remember all the sweet times we shared.
I am so grateful that Papa brought us together and kept us connected through all these years.
True friends are a gift from God and Anita was one of those precious gifts!

Definitely an earth angel!  :)