I use Facebook once a week for three minutes so it’s not surprising I missed the private message. Everything on the fb page is confusing and to be honest I spend most of my time turning off their notifications. (Because truthfully, as a person I love you but I could care less that you had a bagel for lunch. You are coming across as strange and mildly narcissistic. Take your bagel outside and share your lunch with someone. Have a real conversation with a real person then don’t post about it. We’ll all feel better. Sorry. Small rant.) After clicking on the little red box on the top of my home page, I realized that I had a note from a name I didn’t recognize.
A bit of reading and I find out a darling soul is going out of her way to track me down and deliver my mail. We exchange phone numbers and a few days later, I am at the door of my old rental house, in my old neighborhood, facing my old feelings of loss. I’m not sure why my girlfriend decided to send my postcard to the house I vacated seven years ago. To be fair, she was suffering from a wicked case of jet lag when she wrote me from Paris last month. Still, it was a strange mistake and I wondered what God was up too. No time to swim in the pool of self-pity however, I rang the doorbell, said hello and within a few moments I was in my former back yard chatting about trees, neighbors and garden projects.
As the conversation moves back inside, we sink into chairs and deeper heart issues. One of the joys of talking to mature Christians is they can listen to a story of loss with grace. Chances are strong they have faced something similar. We passed the time easily, sharing our victories and losses, bragging on God for the marvelous way He came through when no human help was accessible. This couple's story was every bit as harrowing as my own. They too were familiar with a season of loss, death and financial uncertainty. It was kind of nice, I felt no pressure to put a faith spin on my story. Everyone in the room knew that Jesus leads his people into some dark valleys. When he does, your story becomes inexplicable. It’s too complicated, too confusing and too complex to share with others. All that you have at the end of the journey is a trail of bible verses and used tissues. Those who have traveled the chasm between despair and hope never forget the trip and can converse easily with those making the journey.
After I had taken up too much of their precious time, I excused myself to my car. Just as I was walking down the driveway, my old neighbor appeared on her porch for a smoke break. I smiled. She looked the same as I had last seen her, cigarette in her right hand, left arm crossed under her chest. Beautiful, her eyes looked tired, the telltale sign of having young children. Hers wasn’t an easy life. Her first child had special needs and it had taxed her marriage in the early years. She was alone and struggling, so we had many conversations back when I lived across the street.
Seven years ago, our last conversation had been a goodbye. A crisis had meant my husband and I had 10 days to pack up a decade of living and leave the country. My anxiety was high and for some reason I struggled over whether to give her a ridiculously expensive bike I had or whether it was better stewardship to try sell it. I decided that because my future was uncertain, it made more sense to sow into God’s economy and gift the bike. It was a child’s tricycle with a parent handle and sunshade, super fancy and upscale. It had been given to me, and it seemed smart to pass it on because it afforded her son a mobility he didn’t possess. I felt a bit silly, but I gave it to her anyway. It was one of the last things I did before closing up our home and setting out into the proverbial desert.
I sighed and walked across the street. Would she remember me? She waved hello and we had a brief exchange. I got a rundown on the children and her family. She asked questions and got an update before she turned to go inside to tend her littles. She stopped and faced me again. “I have to tell you…to say thank you again for the bike you gave us when you moved. It has been such a wonderful gift. We’ve used it over and over again. I've thought of you. I even take it camping. I’ve used it for my son and the kids I take care of. It was just the greatest present. I just had to say thank you again.” With a wave, she was gone, and I was left speechless.
I said my goodbyes to the couple and got into my car, wayward postcards in hand. As I arrived home, I sat in my parking space for a while. I realized with surprise I wasn’t feeling shattered. I had just survived a visit to my place of loss. Moreover, I had come away with thoughts to munch on.
-When I was suffering there were others in my community who were going through similar situations. I wasn’t the only person hurting and questioning God’s purposes.
-In my place of brokenness, I had inadvertently blessed someone by choosing generosity over fear.
-God was continually meeting needs even though I couldn’t understand His plan.
-As I keep looking for the Lord, He shows up in the strangest places. Even my friend’s misdirected mail was a weird opportunity to step out, testify and be blessed.
So I am thinking and praying for you my friend, especially if you are struggling to move on from loss. I pray for the courage to follow the Lord if he walks you back to where you were wounded. That you will be given the grace to testify to His goodness, even though you still bear the scars. And I pray that in your faithfulness, you will come away with a blessing and a heart full of good news.
Have courage this week.
xoxKaren