KNOW BUDDIES

Image by Kup Kup Land via Flickr I might have never met her or ever heard her story. She did not run in the same circles I did. I probably would never have had the opportunity or even the reason to know her. She became a friend because an act of God brought us together when He laid on my heart her story over and over until it became clear that I needed to support her regardless of whether I knew her or not. I was a woman with children as well. She had my heart from the day I heard her story. Verna White is a Know Buddy I am proud and humbled to have her in my life, knowing God arranged it to be so.

  It's been just about 4 years since our paths crossed in rather unconventional ways. A small group I belonged to at the time decided to commit to helping out Verna after we heard her story on the news. We began by sending cards and donations to a fund set up to help Verna recover and get her life back together and Verna surprised me one day with a phone call asking if she could visit our small group...she visited and she stayed...and became a sweet friend of all of us.

Verna was not recovering from an illness but from a horrific crime that nearly cost her her life as she tried to protect her daughter. I can still remember how anxious we were the day she was planning to show up to meet our group. We worried that we would not know what to say, what to ask, what not to ask. We wondered if she would think we were a bunch of zealots or worse, just some privileged women and although everyone in our group had her own story, none was quite like Verna's.

But when she arrived, it was as comfortable as if we were long time friends. Conversation flowed freely and we shared transparently with one another. We laughed, we hugged, we responded in a way people who have come to an understanding through God often do; with a complete reassurance that we were meant to be friends.

Has God ever arranged a friendship that you might never have dreamed of and blessed it with His presence?  How many people in your life were brought to you by divine intervention? How many do you miss connecting with because it seems like you may have nothing in common? 
 Image via Wikipedia
Verna will always be a treasure I was given to know. Her story is as amazing as she is and what is more incredible is that I had the privilege to tell it.

You can read more about Verna and her unbelievable story at ONE MORE SERVING


Don't pass up the opportunity to have an amazing Know Buddy in your life because you thought you had nothing in common. When God brings people together you have more than enough in common.

Is God My Sugar Daddy?

Isn't it easy to give God glory whenever He pulls through for us; whenever He works his magic and heals our illness and disease and returns us to good health or whenever He allows that awesome job to fall into our lap, providing us with some well deserved rewards? We can shout to the heavens when our God performs a "miracle" in our eyes or allows us to be the recipient of rich blessings.

Image by .imelda via FlickrI don't know about you but I sometimes forget that God doesn't lose any awesomeness whenever what I want doesn't happen or whenever  what I pray for isn't fulfilled.  I find myself questioning sometimes how my God could let me down whenever He knew how desperate I was to have His blessings and rewards change my circumstance. It's then that I realize I sometimes see God not as my spiritual father but rather as my "sugar daddy", the one who will give me just what I desire if I am a good girl. I am disappointed in my observations of how I handled my relationship with God, knowing that He has a perfect plan for my life and just because I don't get what I think I deserve or what I really want doesn't not mean He has failed me but rather that I have failed Him.I fail to realize that disappointments and hardships are not only to be expected but to draw me closer. I want closer on my terms and not His.

I am reminded that He is not an ATM machine dispensing more goodies to me just because I need them, He is not a winning lottery ticket that brings me god luck because I am all deserving and He certainly is not my sugar daddy, ready to give me all good things because I expect them. He is my God. He already has saved me from myself and given me an opportunity to have eternal life;something I can never earn or achieve for myself. He already has forgiven my numerous offenses and my selfish claim to rights that are not mine because of me but because of Him.Image by EG Focus via Flickr

How easy it is to wonder where God is when we cannot understand why prayers go unanswered or desires unfulfilled. My God has done great things for me and meets every need and yet I expect more. How about you? Have you taken the time to reflect on your relationship with God? Are you wanting Him to fill a sugar daddy role instead of realizing how blessed you are to have a heavenly father who cares for us and wants us to live forever with Him in an unspeakable paradise?

How horrible it would be to know someone cared about us because of what we could do for them rather than because of who we were and how we loved them back. I wonder if I have made God feel that way? 

Another Trip Around the Sun

Image by joanna8555 via Flickr

I took one more trip around the sun recently and I am learning more than I ever dreamed. I know that it is never too late or too early to be passionate about anything. I know that what I have will never make me credible but what I do or don't do will always make a difference. I know that I will never be able to count my blessings. 

I know that it is better to take a good swimmer and a life jacket with you when you think you can walk on water. 

I know I can never meet too many incredible people, read too many great books, or set too many unreachable goals. I know that it really doesn't matter what I think some days but it always matters what I think of myself. I know to never underestimate anyone especially yourself. I know that I can be wealthy without money and poor with a bankroll. I know that I can make a regrettable mistake as quickly as I can make a profound impact. I learned that it is more important that I do something even if it turns out to be wrong than if I regret never trying. I learned I can never hurt anyone with too much love, laughter or attention but I can easily change a life without those ingredients. 

I learned that a sense of humor is essential to well being.

I learned that the best things in my life were not those I necessarily studied for, worked for, planned or even decided  and that sometimes the less I try to arrange the outcome the more effective I am.
I learned that forgiveness is rarely deserved as much as it is appreciated.  I know that sometimes life is better looked at through a young child's smile, nature or a dog's eyes. 

I know when I was 20,40 seemed old but now even 100 does not seem to be enough time. I know I love things I never dreamed I could tolerate including  the color yellow, country music and summer squash.I know I miss the people who have left my life like I always thought I would and more.

I know if I can't live with my decision, behavior, or action, I can't expect anyone else to either .

I know it isn't always about the glass being half full or half empty but sometimes about being fortunate enough to even have a glass. I know you can worry too much about how you look, what you have, who you know and what you need but never enough about where your life is going.I know that the richer my life gets by the people who enter it, the more I am humbled by the gifts I never asked for and received.

I know my husband will always be my best friend, my girlfriends my dearest companions and my God, my only hope.

I know I am a child of God and I would have known nothing had it not been for this.