Friday, February 23, 2007

Dear God,

I hadn't seen my dear friend for nearly three years. She had left me voice mails. I had called her. We finally connected. So we planned a late lunch.

From the moment I greeted her at the restaurant door with a menu and "Hello, welcome to Boulder Creek. We are glad to have you here with us today," we either laughed or cried. Memories rose to the top of our conversation.

A tray of meatballs she had made earlier. I was having guests for dinner. I was late driving home to cook, 30 minutes away. She shoved them in my hands as I hurried out the door. A gift for a pastor late for her own dinner party.

A cup of coffee on Christmas Eve as I made my way to deliver gifts for our Project Angel Tree mission, presents from our church for children whose parents were incarcerated in prison. I drove around in the country trying to find addresses. I was hopelessly lost. (I have no sense of direction.) It was getting later and later and I had to help serve communion in my husband's church. But I had to deliver the treasures first and I had to go to the bathroom so badly but nothing was open in the rural area. I finally stopped and poddied in the coffee cup from Pepperdine University. We howled as we remembered incidents from nearly 20 years ago.

But the most meaningful was when she called to tell me she was unable to attend a meeting at church. I hardly knew her at the time. But I asked why. Her mother was due for a leg amputation, her 32nd surgery. She had diabetes. Ann had a three hour drive ahead of her. I drove straight to her house, picked her up and drove her to Fort Wayne where we prayed with her mother and waited for news of the surgery.

I only served two years in the county seat church before being appointed to serve with my husband in the town of our home. They were wonderful to me. I loved the people of Montgomery County very much. I really bonded with the youth and women as I held their first ever retreats.

But it was Ann with whom I found a lasting friendship. Throughout the years we would try to get together for a quick meal. More often than not we failed. But our appreciation and affection for one another has held for two decades.

Ann is a remarkable woman. She had it rough at times growing up. She was a loyal prayerer but found no use for Jesus as Savior. One day it came to her, the whole idea of Christianity. She was sold hook, line and sinker. She began studying the Bible and still clings to biblical truths.

A wife and mother, she has faced her share of sorrow. Her son was in a horrible accident, not sure if he would make it. He lived but later he and his wife divorced. A child of that marriage was killed in another accident. A betrayal.

Ann is an executive director of a non-profit foundation. She is an extraordinary fundraiser. She now oversees 31 million dollars. Her goal is to give away a million dollars a year. This year their gifts to the community totaled $900,000.

Her loving spirit touches people every day. She is genuine, the "real thing." A friend like Ann is one to cherish for a lifetime. I am deeply grateful for our friendship.

Each time we talk, the conversation moves toward the topic of faith. We are both keenly aware of the surprises of God. We pray. We ask questions. We give thanks. Our hearts are cemented in a relationship with God. We believe in miracles.

Faith can seal a relationship. It can bring God alive to another who is struggling. A true bond of friendship arises out of faith because a love for God can bring about loved ones. Faith is the center of life's highest calling. And it leads to the greatest joy in the universe. Faith is the distinguished mark of the association Ann and I share.

As Ann and I hugged goodbye, we promised to get back together soon. That may or may not happen in the near future with our schedules. But God who is in us will nourish our souls until at last we meet again.

Nourishing God,
you feed our souls
with friendship
made in eternity.
You grant us faith
that deepens our relationships.
Our hearts give praise.
We are bound together
by Christ,
the eternal God
whose agape outweighs
any small amount of love
we can muster
for each other.
I am grateful,
so very grateful.

And I am yours, Andrea