God Is Full Of Surprises

When I arrived back in Macon and opened my pastry bag, I discovered that the precious cashier who gave me the free coffee had also given me an extra lemon creme tart! Can you believe how blessed a person can be? God is definitely full of surprises!

At The Atlanta Airport Yesterday

PLEASE pray for a woman who said her name was Stephanie. She made up an incredibly complex story about being a stranded veteran. Her purse contained packages of cigarettes. Her breath smelled of hard liquor. She sat down beside me in an airport cafe, and asked for money. I looked up at

the ceiling, and whispered, "God, what are you asking of me? You know I don't like giving money to people because I think they'll use it for their addictions. I prefer to give food, shelter, and advice. Do you want me to give Stephanie money?" God replied with a clear and resounding, "YES!" So, I gave her the $85 I had in my wallet as I also told her to quit lying to me, and to tell me the truth. Obviously she was an experienced con woman, but for a few minutes she broke down and genuinely cried in my arms. She managed a laugh when I pulled out my "Dora, The Explorer" pack of tissues for her. I told her God loves her, and that she needs to go to rehab. I suggested a few places. I told her that I don't believe any of her story, but what I do know is that she needs help. I held her hands as I encouraged her to leave the airport and to quit lying, and I told her that every time she lies to someone about her situation I pray she will see my face and remember that God loves her, and that eventually she will believe it...

Well, apparently God wasn't finished with me yet because as I started outside to the ground transportation van, an elderly, partially blind woman (she actually had no eye in one of the sockets) with a cane approached me asking very kindly for anything I could give her. I was holding a very hot, cup of coffee a kind waitress had just given me as I was leaving the cafe. I asked the partially blind woman if she could hold my coffee so I could look into my bag to see what I could give her. She held the coffee with great respect, and I found $20 I had stuffed into my bag. I hugged her as she handed me back my coffee, and she broke into tears saying I had no idea how much she needed a hug...

But...God still wasn't finished with me yet! Seconds later, I was greatly struggling with my heavy luggage when a well-groomed young man asked if he could help me get somewhere. I replied yes :) He was quiet so I asked him his story, and he told me an unbelievable story about his father dying. The young man added that he is a poor seminary student whose flight was cancelled and he probably wouldn't make it to the funeral. I thanked him and gave him my last $20 from the ATM that morning. I hugged him, and told him that I'm sure I don't know his real story, but that God loves him for his kindness, and so do I :) 

As I finally rode away in the van, I felt extremely blessed to have been someone these three people thought would help them. In the past, I've teasingly said that I have the word “sucker” on the

back of my shirt. Yesterday, I realized maybe I have the word “Christian” there instead, 

And just for the record, sometimes, I think God will never be finished with me...

My Wake-up Call

My family and I super celebrated New Year's Eve on December 31, 2014!  After all, it had been such a different year.  Prior to 2014, whenever a doctor would inquire about my past medical history, I would boast six childbirths and nothing more. By the end of 2014, I had a multipage medical rap sheet. To the world, my life had seemed fine, but I had known for quite some time that I was in trouble. My body began to rebel. During my annual physical in January, my doctor asked if I ever had a colonoscopy, I shamefully replied I had a barium test about ten years ago. Of course, he and I agreed a colon screening was probably at least ten years overdue.  To this day, I think I still would not have followed through on his suggestion unless I had developed gallbladder problems in February. Gallbladder surgery followed in early Spring. The screening colonoscopy followed my recovery from that surgery.

The lifelong stress I thought I'd been handling so well had weakened my immune system, allowing a large (6cm) growth to develop along my colon wall. Surgery was unavoidable.  Then an even more horrific thing happened. I began to believe I was nearing the end of my life, However, when the results of all the secondary tests of other vital organs arrived, my awesome surgeon set me back on a positive track with these words, "If this was something to be more concerned about, your other organs would already have been damaged. Since your organs, x-rays, and blood work are exceptionally good, I'm choosing to believe everything is going to be fine. I am not even going to send you to an oncologist, unless you so desire." Emotionally, I replied, "I am choosing to believe as you do." However, even with my doctor's optimism and the support of my friends and family, the month between the discovery and the colon re-section was indeed a lonesome walk,. That particular part of the story is quite complex, and warrants far more attention in a later blog. What I want to share here is that when my surgeon read the pathology report stating, "there is no evidence of and no reason to ever believe this situation will be anything other than benign,"  I realized God isn't finished with me yet...