August 20 – “Happy Birthday, Mom”

Yet there were others.  Those who resided within the Land of the Protected Crescent Moon.  No. That was not an area dedicated to strange gods of the skies who somehow miraculously gathered the structures under a wing like a mother chicken, though the result seemed so.  The realms of those located within that land were virtually untouched.  Oh, all were rattled by driving winds, to be sure.  And some weathered the battering better than others.  I suppose the same could be said of us.  Ah.    But those within that blessed Land could point to a reason other than the skies for their survival.  They lived in the only area upon Greater Island that proved to be close enough to the Wall Against the Seas and far enough from the unchecked advance of waters from behind and just high enough to teeter on their tiny apex of security.    And good news!  The eldest son of the Queen sent word that his castle, which was within that Land was relatively unscathed.  That meant the entire family would have access to an oasis of calm whenever it was needed.   Which brought up the next crisis for the Queen and her court.  Where to stay?  Her lands were quite unlivable, but they needed to be nearby so work could begin.  Indeed work was already ongoing in earnest by even the Queen herself.  Family provided shelter initially, but it was only temporary.  Long term shelter would be needed.  But where?  How?   Again with the questions!   Just as we were starting home group last night my cell phone rang.  We had just started singing, and that meant I had to pay attention to where we were in the song so I could click to the next screen in powerpoint so everyone could see the words.  The laptop was on some kind of split screen mode with the TV screen, so I couldn't ask just anyone to take over without at least showing them how to do it.  Of course my first thought was that it might be Chris.  Now all of that went through my head before the first line of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" had completed.  That's my ring tone. Ordinarily I would either ignore it completely or let Chris take it.  But Chris wasn't here.  And it might be her with news about her Mom.  Or maybe just her wanting to hear me say, "I love you."  I couldn't just let it pass without looking, so in between slides I popped open the phone a snuck a peak.  It wasn't Chris.  In fact it wasn't even a number I recognized.  No brainer.  I closed the phone and put it away.   But something about it kept nagging at me.  I took my phone back out and looked at the number again.  "Oops, missed a slide.  Let me get caught up.  No, I really don't know that number.  Why is it bugging me?  Maybe it's one of he new couples who visited church.  Maybe they wanted directions to home group.  Maybe someone else is calling because Chris is tied up with her Mom.  Maybe …"  Needless to say, that song was not one where I was able to lose myself in worship.  I finally put the phone on silent and put it back in my pocket.    As soon as we finished Bible Study, though, that nagging returned.  I checked the phone again, and discovered the same number had tried to call a second time.  OK.  Now the urge to call the number back was almost overwhelming.  Please understand here.  I don't usually call any number back unless they leave a message.  But I couldn't shake it.  The group was breaking up and just standing around chatting.  So I went into my office and called it back.   The lady that answered was very nice.  Seems that she had been trying to call a friend but didn't have the last two digits of his phone number.  So she had just made an attempt to see what would happen.  She was very apologetic and obviously embarrassed.  I asked if she ever made contact with the person she was trying to reach, and she said she hadn't.  I told her that I didn't think it was an accident that she "found" me.  If nothing else she met someone new and I would pray for her to boot.  The line went very quiet.  "Did you just say you would pray for me?" she asked.  "Yes, Ma'am, I did.  And I will do it."  More silence.  Then she said, "The person I was trying to call is a Godly man, and I was calling to ask him to pray for me.  You really will pray for me?"  I again assured her that I would.  "Oh, my name is Darlene," was her final, subdued comment as she quickly disconnected.  I prayed for Darlene.  It was no accident.   Jeremiah 29:11-13 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'"   Father, thank you that in your world there are no accidents.  Take care of my new friend Darlene.  Amen.