I play the organ for my Church congregation on Sundays. Often when I am at the chapel during the week to practice for the coming Sunday's service, there is some activity in the parking lot. Though I am usually the only person inside the chapel itself during the time I practice, I am not always alone.
The parking lot is fairly spacious, so kids ride their bikes or skateboards unimpeded by traffic. People walk their dogs in this semi-shady area. Now and again the groundskeepers are mowing the lawns or trimming the bushes. And once in a while, workers who are looking to get out of the sun and have a quick rest will sit in their cars to eat their lunch.
One beautiful Saturday morning at the beginning of summer, I came out of the chapel after practicing the organ and noticed two women sitting on the curb resting. There was no car in the parking lot, so I was surprised to see them there. They greeted me and asked me what time Church Services began on Sunday.
I told them three congregations met in that chapel on Sunday: 9:00 am, 10:30 am, and noon. "But," I told them "my husband and I attend the 9 am meetings during which I play the organ." Then I extended an invitation for them to come at that time and attend Church with us.
We chatted for a few minutes by way of introduction. "Are you visiting family here?" No. Laura Monroe shared that she had just lost her husband recently, and her friend Heidi Lynn, who had lost her husband last year had agreed to accompany her from San Antonio, Texas, to Shelly, Idaho, where Laura's husband had relatives. Their principal business in this area was to meet Laura's brother-in-law who was going to help her sell her motor home on the following day.
After some more pleasantries--and condolences--the two women took off on foot for the rest of their walk.
And that was when I slapped my forehead in utter disbelief of myself! I pray every day that I may be an instrument in the Lord's hand to assist whoever might need a helping hand. Here was a perfect opportunity--and I had basically dissed the Lord who had put two women right in front of me! Two women who might like to have some friends for a day. WHY didn't I ask if I could drive them to their motel? WHY didn't I invite them to come to our home and spend the afternoon, so they didn't have to stare at the walls of a cramped hotel room. WHY hadn't I told them we would pick them up for Church the next morning and also extend a dinner invitation for after Sunday meetings? WHY, WHY, WHY? I'm just no good at extending myself. I do that kind of inclusion so infrequently: I don't even know how to do it!
So, I started to pray mightily that my new friends Laura and Heidi WOULD come to 9 am services the following morning. I would be prepared--in advance--to invite them to Sunday dinner for a meal that I would already have cooking. If they said "no", at least I would have made the effort to treat them as our guests.
"Please...let me make up for my initial failure to invite them when I should have," was the mantra that played over and over in my head the rest of the day as my husband and I rushed to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for a favorite meal that was easy to fix, but really hit the spot in its simplicity.
When we got home, I started prepping for Sunday dinner, first by preparing the roast with all its special seasonings for the crock pot to be turned on at the crack of dawn. Then I prepared the salad, got out a special cloth and dishes to set the table after Church, and went to bed still asking forgiveness for not picking up on the promptings while I was with Heidi and Laura in the church parking lot.
I decided to walk to Church early the following morning so I could prepare the organ stops and mark the hymnal at all the right numbers. Just as I was coming up the sidewalk that approached the front doors of the chapel, Lo and Behold, there were Laura and Heidi approaching the front door from the opposite direction! I was sooo happy to see them. First part of my fervent prayer answered!
Right then my husband Louis drove up. I introduced them to him and left him to get Laura and Heidi settled in the chapel while I hurried to the organ. When the service was over, I went to the classroom for instruction and saw the two women sitting near the back with an empty seat beside them--for me! With great gusto I introduced them to the rest of the class as my new friends--and gave a little rundown as to how we had met "just yesterday" when they walked from their motel to the chapel to see what time Church was scheduled for today's meetings.
At the end of the meeting block that day, I wasted no time inviting my two new friends to Sunday dinner at 3 pm. They accepted, and we drove them to the motel so they could rest before Louis went back to pick them up in time for our planned meal.
But wait....! My bad luck as a cook kicked in once again. So, dinner wasn't the smooth little repast that I had in mind. Yes, I prepped the night before so I could plug in the crock pot at precisely 5 am and the meat could slow-cook until it was so tender it could be shredded with a fork. Nuh uh.... When we got home about 11:30 am from dropping our friends off at the motel--which was quite a walk for them, at least five plus miles each way--I discovered my latest culinary mistake. I DID plug the crock pot in, but I forgot to turn it "ON".
In a panic, I turned the heat to high so the roast could cook in five hours, which it did but turned out dry and tough. Not the juicy piece of seasoned beef that was supposed to fall apart after 8 hours of slow cooking. Oh, and I forgot all about the coleslaw which is supposed to be the filling with the meat for the sliders. Chips were fine. And the Orange-Shake 'Em Up Bars turned out okay, I guess. They seemed to hit the spot for dessert. Actually, the food was secondary to the satisfying opportunity to host strangers who soon became friends.
Really, none of that black cloud over the food preparation mattered at all. What mattered is that I had been able to make good my promise that if the Lord would direct me, I would reach out to any person that came into my path.
Not only were Laura and Heidi delightful guests, they were fun to visit with as we learned more about them and they learned about us. It was a long shot from being any kind of sacrifice as we extended ourselves to these delightful women.
All too soon it was time for us to return Heidi and Laura to their motel. They were expecting the buyer for the motor home about 6 pm. And the following morning they would be on their way to Shelly, Idaho, where they would spend time with the Munroe Family. Heidi was slated to stay until the first week in July and then return to Texas without Laura.
"Goodbye! Goodbye! Thank you for letting us take you in for a day. Please stop by any time you are here again." And they also said the same for us if we get to Texas.
It was all over before I realized I had made the second mistake--I forgot to chronicle this special event with even one snapshot to record a most remarkable occasion!
However, words sometimes paint their own pictures. Later that day Laura texted the following message:
Dear Georgia & Louis,
I'm so very grateful for your gift of loving friendship--inviting Heidi and me into your home for dinner, driving us back and forth, and sharing experiences.
You immediately warmly welcomed us as family.
Talking with you, sharing our different thoughts was more soothing than I can express, especially at this time when I needed it most.
I treasure this day and God's special gift of bringing you into my & Heidi's lives.
We love you and look forward to when we'll meet again. You'll always have a place to stay with me when visiting Shelley ID or San Antonio (Floresville) TX.
With Love,
Laura
And my reply:
Oh, Laura...the pleasure and sense of friendship was on our end, as well. Thank you, thank you for responding to two strangers. We will certainly stay in touch...and with Heidi, too!
A few days later I texted Laura again, saying I hoped that their trip to Shelly was pleasant and expressed my feelings again that the previous weekend was a real treasure when we met both her and Heidi.
Laura then replied that they had loved visiting with me and Louis. She then went on to say that we had made that segment of their journey beautiful with our kind and loving spirit. A "highlight" was her word choice. Then she added a wish of blessings for us.
One night not too long after our wonderful visit with Laura and Heidi, I wrote the entire experience on my tablet in preparation for posting it on my blog. But, I clicked something on the tablet that accidentally--and totally erased the entire story except for the first three paragraphs. I was frantic trying everything I could think of to "find" it somewhere in cyberspace--without success. Nothing I did recalled it. Needless to say, I was devastated.
Then life got in the way...
An extended family reunion in Ohio, children and grandchildren coming to visit us as we all vacationed in Estes Park. My nephew's 50th wedding anniversary in Wyoming, and a week's visit from another nephew and wife from Texas.
Whew!
So, I am just now rewriting that remarkable experience when I reached out to a couple of friendly women who only wanted to know when services at the chapel were going to be held the following day. Women who became our friends over a short 24 hours!
Now that several weeks have passed, I may have some of the details wrong, but I still think the whole experience was....
SERENDIPITOUS !
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