Is That You, God?

CONTENT
Introduction
  1. A Mum and a Mission
  2. A Step Up in Faith
  3. Journey of Hope
  4. Challenges and Trouble
  5. Each One Counts
  6. “Don’t Touch My Card”
  7. In Need of the Savior
  8. My Last Christmas
  9. “Just Not Today”
10. McDonalds Can Wait
11. Accepting His Gift
12. The Touch of a Hand
13. “Tell God My Name”
14. Late Arrival
15. “Just Look Up”
16. Impatiently Waiting
17. Fireworks, Forgiveness, and Freedom
18. Cruisin’ in a Wheelchair
19. Amazing Grace
20. Lifting the Mask
21. A Cane and a Hope
22. Snowmen, Sheep, and a Savior
23. More than a Dream
24. Beyond a Mother’s Grief
25. A Purse, a Prayer, and an Irish Blessing
Afterword
About the Author

Chapter One
A Mum and a Mission

Hearing God’s call to deliver a mum to a complete stranger changed my life forever.

It was an unseasonably warm morning for February, and I found myself working in the yard in anticipation of spring. But in spite of the beautiful weather, I continued to be disappointed and discouraged by the possibility of not being able to have a child. Instead of allowing this circumstance to continually steal my joy, I stopped for a moment, turning my thoughts to God. I asked that He fill this void in my life with something meaningful.
That very morning, I felt a tug at my heart telling me to take a mum to a particular elderly lady, the one adopted by the women’s circle at our church. I thought to myself, Do what? Because I was not a member of that group, I had no idea who this lady was or where she lived. I questioned, God, why me?
My first reaction was to ignore these thoughts and return to my yard work. Then I remembered the brightly colored mum I’d bought the previous day for no apparent reason. I could take the mum to this lady, but I would need more information about her.
I immediately phoned the president of the women’s group. After learning their adopted friend, Mrs. Dixon, was a resident of a nearby nursing home, I placed the mum in my car and headed for the facility.
When I checked with the nurses’ station, a staff member informed me that Mrs. Dixon’s condition had worsened earlier that morning, and she had been transferred to the local hospital. I knew where my next stop would be.
I soon found myself on the second floor of the hospital amid an unusual commotion in the hallway. Family members of patients were irritated and complained because of the moaning and crying out from one of the rooms.
I distinctly heard someone loudly and repeatedly calling, “Jesus! Jesus!” As I walked down the corridor, holding my mum and reading the room numbers, I realized I was fast approaching the source of that voice. Recognizing her room number, I abruptly stopped. I had found Mrs. Dixon.
Entering the room, I glanced at the sight of this frail, helpless body still calling out for Jesus. She wasn’t alone, for near her bed stood a man in worn overalls and a flannel shirt. He seemed indescribably sad. Tears streamed down his face from red swollen eyes. Because of his grieving, I felt he must be her son.
Without saying a word, I placed the mum on the bedside table. With my arm wrapped around his shoulder, I tried to comfort him. In spite of his grief, he managed to tell me his name was Genie. He painfully shared with me that his mother was ready to die and was calling for Jesus to come. I sensed their strong faith. He asked that I pray for her, and although I had never prayed for a person so close to death, I trusted God to help guide me through this.
Aware that her time on earth would soon be ended, I felt the support of a minister was needed. Genie agreed, and a local pastor arrived within minutes. As her condition continued to worsen, Genie asked that I stay until distant relatives arrived.
During the next several hours, monitors tracked her failing condition as a constant flow of medical staff administered to her needs. Between periods of silence and emotional sobs, Genie struggled to tell me a little about himself and his mom, who lay there so critically ill.
Except for a brief period of time while he had served his country, he had lived his entire life with his mother in rural Kentucky. He didn’t come right out and say it, but making ends meet must have been difficult throughout the years. Although the two of them lacked basic material possessions, his mom had taught him to place his trust in God and to be grateful for what they had.
My mention of food stamps exposed the selfless attitude of his heart. Even though he and his mother qualified for this benefit, they did not apply. According to Genie’s way of thinking, “Accepting them would cause an imposition on other people.” Because they often considered two meals a day adequate, I couldn’t help but wonder if the two of them often went hungry.
As we waited for others to arrive, Genie shared past feelings of helplessness. He told about his mom’s frail body continually losing strength. When he no longer could adequately care for her personal needs, they had agreed on a local nursing home. Returning to an empty house had left sadness in his heart. Living apart these past months had been a physical and emotional adjustment for both of them.
Late that afternoon before I left the hospital, I shared with him my story. Even then, the events and timing seemed unbelievable—the message in my heart while working in the yard, the available mum, and the sense of overpowering urgency to deliver it to a complete stranger. Genie realized that locating his mother to give her the mum had been no easy task for me. Looking back at the day’s happenings, we both recognized Who had connected our lives.
Even though I knew little about Mrs. Dixon, it was obvious she had accepted Jesus in her heart. Her faith was real. As she called out for Jesus to come, I sensed her spiritual longing to be rid of her pain and to meet Jesus face-to-face as promised in the Bible: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1–3).
Mrs. Dixon already knew the location of her new home. She was ready to make the move.
The next morning, she met Jesus.

~~~

Because of our new bond of friendship, I visited with Genie at the funeral home before his mother’s service. I left with a heavy heart. Even though we lived only twenty miles apart in adjacent counties, I doubted if we would ever see each other again.
Some five weeks later—I didn’t know why—I felt an over-whelming sense of urgency to check on him. Without any contact information, I returned at once to the nursing home where his mother had been a patient. I asked the staff if they could give me his address or phone number without violating their privacy policy.
A nurse looked quite surprised and called my request “a strange coincidence,” for Genie had just walked in the door a few minutes earlier to pick up his mom’s belongings …