God's Special Gift for Me Today

My God is so amazing!! This is something that I know. But if I'm honest, there are days I forget how AWESOME He is. Today He gave me a gift. I praise the Lord for being a God who is not too busy to meet me right where I am at and give me such a gift.

I have a special friend Jessica. We met several years ago and I must admit I have always felt we were kindred spirits. I have a lot of aquaintences and many friends, but there are really very few people who I feel are kindred spirits in my life. Amy is one. And Jessica is another. After some changes in ministry, church...we don't have opportunity to connect on a regular basis. After the chaos that is both of our lives...we can't make the effort to connect. Lately I have been running into her at church. She homeschools her children and they spend time at church. We normally make very small talk, are usually both in the middle of doing something or quickly heading off to our next destination.
Today Marlon and I stopped in the mission cafe' and I saw Jessica sitting with her kids in a booth. Marlon had to sit and make some phone calls...and I headed over to make the normal small talk with Jessica. But for some reason, I sat down in the booth next to her and we TALKED. What ensued was a conversation between the two of us that we probably could not have with anyone else. We suffer from the same medical diagnosis, our marriages have gone through many of the same things, we can be real and honest about our problems and struggles in a way we probably can't with ANYONE else and we understand each other in a way that very, very few others could. It was my gift. And hers. A gift of renewed friendship and accountability. A gift in that it was a reminder that I am not alone and it was her first experience in knowing that she is not alone. A gift in reconnecing with my sweet, sister in Christ. I think of all of the times in the last few weeks that I could have stopped to have this conversation. But it wouldn't have been the same. It needed to happen just today, in the way it did. I am so grateful. I am so humbled that He would love me so much that He would give me this gift.

I thank you Lord. I pray right now for Jessica. I lift up to you ALL of her burdens, ALL of her hurt. I pray that you would take it all away even if just for tonight. I pray that she runs only to you for comfort and finds you to be more than enough.

In your name, Amen.