I stand amazed!
I simply am in awe of how God is weaving His thread through my vacation. I'll never be able to explain the extent to which God has blessed me today. So hang in there....be patient with me....the miraculousness in the way that God works is really in the details. 😁
Where to begin.....We were doing some water aerobics jogging upstream in the Lazy River. You'd be amazed at the comments, the cheering on, the conversation between those we passed floating on rafts. It was a beautiful day. Sunny, as you can see in the picture, 73°.... perfect. 🌞 Many here are from the North escaping freezing temperatures. I made two observations:
- Sunshine causes many to smile and engage in conversation...
- Semi- normal is better than no normal at all
I passed a woman who smiled at me and said, "my doctor recommended water aerobics for me." That's all she said. I smiled and on we went. When I was coming out of the pool I saw her sitting with another woman on the ledge of the pool. I approached them and asked them how they were on this beautiful sunshiny day.....and the conversation starter " where are you from?" They were from the Cincinnati area. Before you know it I was sitting down having a nice chat with Sandy and Sue. We chatted for a bit when Sandy said, "I lost my husband three years ago. It was so sudden and unexpected." And just like that, in an instant, I knew why we had crossed paths. I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't skip a beat and it was easy. My first thought was , "Really God.... another widow? On vacation?" But I knew...because it's happened so many times. So I took a deep breath and told her, I too, had lost my husband. 😢We shared our experiences and something she said prompted a "Praise God" (which it was but also my go to comment to see if the conversation would go where I hoped it would) and Sue said, YOU'RE A CHRISTIAN! To which I responded, "Yes! I love Jesus" And the conversation that flowed from us was absolutely ordained and SO glorifying. Simply put BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING!
Since I'm at nearly six years (post loss) and Sandy is at three she had many, many questions for me.
- When does it get better?
- What did you do when _____?
- Why did it happen?
- How do you deal with unresolved issues?
- How do you move forward?
Of course I prefaced my comments with, "this is MY journey" and yours may look very different.....but the grief is the same. We talked about grief.....and healing.....and Jesus. We talked about love.....and loss......and Jesus. We talked about confusion....I and anxiety.....and Jesus. I told them that I was a bit unsettled about coming to Florida because life was starting up again. I felt the excitement of serving my church. I would love to be able to be in two places at one time. ☺️ I mean, I KNOW God had something for me so that's exactly what I prayed. Lord, show me what it is you want me to see. Make my purpose clear. And I looked at Sandy and Sue and told them they were my blessings today. I told them it was such a pleasure to meet them and talk about Jesus with them. I said, "Love you ladies" they reciprocated. ❤️ Unbelievable!
God has been so faithful. Not only carrying me in my wilderness journey but showing me how to SEE and RESPOND to those he puts in my path.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I wasn't living it I wouldn't believe it because it's just so incredible.
"For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
Psalm 100:5
I'm so thankful for the A-ha moments and the WOW moments. The realization of what God is doing and the way I feel inside when I get it!
"As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things."
Ecclesiastes 11:5
God, thank you for today. Thankful for Sandy and Sue. God, would you please give Sandy an abundance of love. Please heal her broken heart. Help her to understand the "why's" of the choices her family made. Thank you that you placed me in her path today. Lord, help me to keep my eyes open to see what you might have for me tomorrow.
Amen
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