Friends: Closer Than Relatives

A couple of my closest friends and I have fallen into kidnapping.

On one of our birthdays, the other two plan the day and pay all expenses to something special.  (Any shopping, is at our own expense.)  Lunch and fees are paid by the other two.  If we take the "kidnappee" to a museum or movie, we pay for her part of the expense.  We also split the expense of her lunch.  We pick out the restaurant(s) and activities so it is all a big surprise to her.  It happens three times a year so it does not get boring or become too routine.  Since we live in a small rural town, we always go to the city or a larger town.

We have great fun: shop, eat, antique stores, museums,  historical places, tourist attractions, specialty stores and movies.  We always chose restaurants and activities that the birthday girl would like.  

We dress up, do our hair, buy silly birthday cards and look forward to these outings.

I have come to see how important friends are.  I did not make many friends when in school.  I was from the wrong side of the tracks and Kennedy was "busing" us into a "higher class" neighbor to force integration.  As a young adult, I was betrayed by a good friend in a way that changed the course of my life.  It took 15 years before I met someone that I could trust to be a friend.  I have been half way across the country from her for the past 26 years and 40 years later, we can still pick up the phone and talk as though we live next door.

 After high school, I "hit the ground running", as I chased after my career.  For 60 years I traveled across this country for work.  Sometimes I came home just long enough to unpack, do a little new work and repack for the next show.  I never knew my neighbors or made friends.  My friends were casual and in various states across this country.

Since I "retired" from all my traveling, I have gradually made friends and learned to value the connection that women have.  I can still count friends on one hand.  You know, the ones that you trust with a secret; the ones that know the most about you and still like you.

In the later part of our lives, we need this connection.  We especially need it when family takes on lives apart from ours and/or we lose a spouse.  Downsizing or moving into assisted living has got to be a huge transition and makes us face the end of our story in this life.  

GOOD NEWS:  It ain't over 'til it's over.  And, good friends can help each other weather all the transitions.  We can share our stories, pictures of our grandkids, a cup of tea, our childhood, Bible study or a cool breeze on the patio in the evening.  We have company to the doctor appointment, a trip to the grocery or someone to call when we need an emotional hug.

Make sure you have a friend to relate to and share time.  Friendship is a precious thing that I ignored for many years.  


The Bible says: 
Lk 7:6  A friend will do you a service
Acts 10:24  Peter had many friends
Acts 19:31  Paul had friends who warned him
Acts 27:3  A friend can provide for you in time of need
Pro 17:17  Solomon tells us a friend can be more reliable than family
Pro 27:6  A friend will always tell you the truth
Pro 27: 9  A friend give sincere advice
Pro 27:17  Friends benefit each other


Jesus' disciples were His "inner circle", close friends.  They shared food, wine, experiences, stories, difficult times and He loved them and prayed for them. 

Prov 18:24  This friend is the Holy Spirit and is a great source of comfort
Lk 12:14  Jesus calls us "friend"; you cannot have a better friend
Since my husband and I will be relocating from this area we presently live in it is going to be a major adjustment to leave my friends.  This has never been an issue before and it will be a major life change.  Of course, we say we will visit and call but the truth is that Facebook will most likely be the main contact.  My friends will find other friends and spend time with grandkids and life will take them ahead on their journey.  I will find other friends, hopefully.  It's just the way life is.  

An old saying comes to mine:  "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."  This can apply to friends.  The friends will be distant but the memories will loom closer than ever.  And every time I remember how we laughed when we realized I had kept one footie on after leaving a shoe store and didn't discover it for hours later, I will smile to myself and say a prayer for everyone of the friends I have made on my journey.
Amen !

Every Day Miracles

We live with miracles every day.  God, our Father, wants us safe, healthy and prosperous.  
Think: how many times and how many ways have you been saved from near tragedy?  Sometimes you have to be away from the situation in order to see it.  God is always close to us.  I mean, He is as close as living inside of us.

Once we accept Jesus, He never leaves.  He comes and makes His home within us.  Jn 14:23

Let me share a story from my misspent youth: I had been out late one evening, by myself.  (I preferred to go by myself because there always seemed to be a "situation" if I went with a friend.  I had some wild and crazy friends.)  Anyway, I was out drinking in the bar of a bowling alley that I frequented because there was a young crowd, the music I liked, a friendly bartender and I knew a few of the clientele.  It was clean and fairly up scale in a nicer part of town. You never know.  Good and bad looms everywhere together.  Personally, I believe the more good that is present, the more evil is lurking.  

That particular night, the crowd was rowdy.  There was a young woman in the crowd that had too much to drink and she was making a physical spectacle of herself and taunting male clientele by removing parts of her clothing while standing on a table.  The bartender had a couple of her friends remove her and take her home.  I decided it was a good idea for me to call it a night and left for my car in the well lit, parking lot.

I had just put the key in my car's door lock and opened the door when I was pushed inside.  I landed, face up, on the seat with my legs dangling outside.  A stranger was looming over me and coming in on top of me.  The only thing I can remember is thinking to my self, "Oh God".  

Funny how a short simple prayer can be all you need.  The fact that you just think of God when you need Him shows faith.   I had been dedicated to God as an infant, been baptized and went to church regular until the age of 18.  I knew of God's existence.  God knew me even though I had become a wayward "prodigal".  This simple prayer was all that was needed.

I have no idea what happened in the next few moments of time.  The next thing after seeing this man looming over me, I was behind the wheel with my car door shut, and locked.  The man was outside my window knocking on the glass and yelling.  I was anxiously trying to put my car key in the ignition, which I did and drove off.  Surely, you can understand how upset I was and I have never forgotten that simple prayer that has worked for me several times since.

When you belong to God (by belief in His Son), He never lets you go.  You are never alone again.  He loves you and only wants you to believe in Him; just accept Him as our Creator and Savior.  He makes it so easy for us.

Every miracle is not always so dramatic.  More often, they are small miracles throughout the day.  Many times, we do not even recognize them as miracles.  Many times we are not aware of them at all.  We can be delayed in traffic in order to save us from a wreck.  He can remove something harmful from our path that we will never know about.  

It is an amazing thing to be a child of God.
Amen

A Funny Thing Happened On Our Way To The ER

You know, for the past few days, I have been dealing with medication issues.  At 71, I have been so blessed to be on only one prescription drug - blood pressure.  It runs rampant in my family.  Recently, my prescription no longer works.  I hate drugs and for other health reasons need to stay away from as many as I possibly can.  I take lots of herbs and vitamins for prevention, exercise, drink lots of water and try to be cautious of what I eat.  

I refuse to be that old lady who sits with friends and discusses her doctor appointments, prescription drugs and side effects while waiting for my next meal.  Had to make an emergency run to the hospital when my blood pressure went over 200; elevated 30 points in just half an hour.

We decided to make an emergency run to an Emergency Room about 10:00 pm.  My husband was concerned about some road construction so we took and alternate route.  Just minutes after using our detour, there was a single head light looming on the horizon.  As we got closer, Steven slowed down realizing the light was stationary.

In my travels, I have had the opportunity to drive through some harrowing situations and this brought one to mind.  A time when going through the Appalacian's,  I had to pass through an area where people were putting things in the road (fires, trees, effigy figures) to stop cars for the purpose of robbery.  This came to my mind.  I was uncomfortable with him stopping and slowing down was giving me concern - just from a past memory.  We are in a rural area that has never had such an issue.  Funny how our minds work.

As we approached the light, it became obvious that it was one working headlight on a car that was stopped with the entire front looking like a wadded piece of tin foil.  There was a young couple in the road behind the car, pacing with a flashlight.  We stopped to inquire of the situation.  They had no phone, the young woman was in early stages of pregnancy and had blood on her.  She was in shock and ranting about a rented car, hitting a cow and what they would do about the car.  The young man was pacing with her, scanning her with the flashlight for cuts and she kept saying she was pregnant but that she was "okay".  It is only providence of God that I had my phone with me.  

My husband's phone is for work use only and he left it on his desk at home.  I only turn mine on when away from home so he can reach me.  Seldom do I carry it if I am with Steven.  I called 911 emergency and reached a town 45 miles away.  It took awhile to get reconnected to the correct county, decide what county road we were on, what was the closest EMT, exactly where we were and establish the fact that we were not the victims but rather on our way to the ER for help ourselves.  Can you believe this?  My husband was getting stressed but I found it to be quite amusing.   All I could think was, "Something strange happened on our way to the ER".  Soon, other vehicles approached with phones, willingness to help and more knowledge of the area than we had.  We were soon back to our personal objective.

Long story short, we spent several hours at the ER with a wonderful nurse and an amazing D.O. who was 75 years old.  I love old family doctors.  They are the real knowledge -   Too few and far between.  I am adjusting to new medication while being monitored and feel there was a reason we were on that road at that time on that night.  Prayers are sent up for that couple - who did not show up at the hospital we went to.  

What was God up to?  Others were on that same road with phones.  We were the first to arrive - on our own emergency mission.  Why did that couple not have a phone?  I thought everyone but Steven and I had phones.  That exact place and time came together.  We will never know their names or see them again.   I wonder about the young woman and her unborn baby.  My heart goes out; she was in obvious shock.  Was it a test for us to stop?  Was it a test for someone else on that road that night?  We could have been minutes earlier and hit the cow ourselves.  We never know but God is always aware and close.  He shields and protects His children.

I am confused about His reasoning but God is good.
Amen

P.S.  It was a cow - a large one and she was dead.

My Personal God

"My God" has made Himself personal to me:

I called on Him when I prayed "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" during my parents divorce.  I was seven years old and He made His presence known to me.

He put His wings around me during the abuse I endured at the hands of a stepfather, and sent me a savior; my grandfather.

He advised me when I was molested by three teen boys at a bus stop. I was 16.

When there was disappointment over missing high school graduation, due to minor surgery, He was there holding my hand.

I held fast to Him through the loss of two children at birth.

During marriage to an alcoholic, He advised me through His spirit.

He was there to console me after the death of Grandfather, the only earthly father I have known.

An angel, in the form of a police officer, was sent when my brakes failed early one morning on busy city streets.

I prayed "Our Father" in an ambulance after a car accident.  It left me with 44 stitches to my face, a broken foot and crushed vertebra, but He chose to spare my life.

Late one evening, in New York, He sent an angel to perform a miracle and save me from an assault in a public parking lot. 

Again, He held my hand during surgery for malignant tumors, consoled me when I learned that I would never have children and held my hand during the hysterectomy ten years later.

I had traveled across this country for forty-five years to sell my art work.  I remember dangerous driving conditions, storms in the mountains, icey roads and being lost - a lot.  My God was sitting next to me in the passenger seat every inch of the way.

In Alabama, He sent an angel with yet another miracle to keep me from an auto accident with two little girls in my car. 

During a time of great depression, from many wrong choices through the years, He spoke and saved me from suicide.

He has loved me from my conception, with a plan for my life.  Thirty-five years ago, my God placed me in His church, changed my life and my way of thinking and, twenty-six years ago gave me my greatest earthy treasure, a husband who truly loves me.

My God bandaged emotional wounds and started the healing.  He has always made Himself personal to my needs.

He sent me a healer and holds my hand every time I take a treatment for liver failure.

He stepped in to fill a huge void when my mother died and consoles a great loss, again, when my brother died young.

A compound fracture in my ankle was set without anesthetic by a strange doctor in a strange hospital in a city far from home.  I was alone for surgery - except for my God.

Throughout my life, and even now, my God has been with me every minute to make sure I did not suffer more than I could bare.  He has been there watching, teaching, protecting; keeping my heart, my body and my soul in His ever gentle arms.

My God took hate, fear and guilt and replaced them with joy, compassion and peace.

My God is the magnificent "I Am" who made time and space and lives on the sides of the north in the third heaven.  Every existence exists in His thought.  He knows every inch of every star in the universe, every grain of sand on every beach and cares enough about me to know how many hairs are on my head - He is the keeper of my soul.

My God loves, protects, blesses, teaches, comforts, heals and answers my prayers. Getting to know Him is a lifetime of joy and amazement.

The Christian life is not easy but the rewards are great.
Amen

Shape Up

Today:

God has spoken to me.

He told me to "shape up".  Like a spoiled child who wants something they cannot have RIGHT NOW, I have been anxious for our relocation.  My husband's job is over and he will be relocated to another across the state. 

We are unsettled, living in a state of limbo.  There are boxes sitting around with seasonal items packed.  I am trying to close a non profit organization which is dragging out with a couple outstanding checks in the account stopping me from getting final reports to my accountant. This goes on and on with our lives being on hold, trying to close one door and reaching for the next.  

I am anxious to get settled in our retirement home; the one where we can finally put down roots and treat it like ours instead of always considering what the next buyer will want.  I day dream about landscaping and wall murals; organizing a new kitchen and setting up my studio.

Last night, my husband told me of yet another delay.  I wanted to cry out of frustration.  Patience is not one of my  virtues.  This threw me into a bad mood for a time.  The dog sensed it and he was a real "pill" all evening.  I was my old self snapping at my husband all through supper.  (I thought I had put that gal behind me.)

By the end of the evening, I thought I had a hold on things.  The apostle Paul said he was  content in whatever situation he found himself - and he was in many situations worse than what I am.  (I am not in jail or being stoned.)  If he can do it, so can I.   All through the night, my dreams were full of bad scenes about everything that has delayed this transition and more of what can go wrong in the near future - all the issues we face with a major relocation.  The enemy was really working on me.  Just before waking this morning, I remember saying, "I rebuke you, Satan, in the name of Jesus".  Truly, I tell you, this was a major battle that waged most of the night.

Listening to my favorite television evangelists this morning and working through my Bible study, God spoke to me through their words - and His, "Nothing will improve until you learn your lesson to accept things as they are and make the best of this situation."  It's not about me!  (Imagine that.)  It's about the people who will sell the house we will buy.  It's about the people who will buy our home.  It's about timing - God's timing because He is working things out to our benefit and the benefit of all who will be involved.

Time has been a precious commodity for several years.  I have wanted more of it for gardening, cooking and painting in my studio.  Now that I have that time, I am complaining.  Have you ever done that?  So, today, I make a new resolution to get back into my studio, take more time for personal grooming and time with friends I will have to say "goodbye" to and blow the dust off of a cook book.  There are going to be moments when I let all the delays get to me.  After all, the enemy never stops.  But, I have turned a corner and will stop and remember to take advantage of this time God is providing for me - because He is involved in my personal life - just like he is involved in your life.  

Everything in God's  good time.

Amen