God's got it!

2:58 p.m. Today's project was to rise early, help Steve and our grandsons get their breakfast, and make sure Adrian and Xavier had their duffle bags filled and in order so their Grandpa Booker could pick them up for a visit at his home.

The reason these processes needed to go smoothly was that I was due at Bible Study at 9:30. After a month's hiatus, I was more than ready to enjoy the lesson on Esther 7-8:2. My pages had been completed bit by bit through December, but I saved the final questions for last Friday, so it would be fresh in my mind today.

When I arrived, wonderful sights greeted me! My nametag was already made out for me--that's a warm Calvary Chapel MoVal tradition. a crowd of my sisters were drinking coffee and snacking on homemade treats, gabbing 90 miles an hour. Spotting lots of girlfriends, I kept turning from one knot of beautiful faces to the next, especially enjoying those I don't normally see. I had thought to bring some goodies, but wrongly figured everyone would be burnt out from Christmas--not so! Enjoyment was in full swing. I did bring some yellow tomato jam I'd made to bless Linda Martinez, who I knew would appreciate such a "delicacy." And sure enough, she's made the red variety herself.

Amid the laughter and greetings, however, I did have a serious conversation with a recent mastectomy patient, who is doing very well, if I remember that stage of my own lumpectomy correctly. Blessedly, she hasn't experienced the wretched swelling--lymphodema--that plagued me, and which I still feel occasionally. She does have only limited use of her arm, so I strongly advised her to push for physical therapy as soon as her doctor feels she's ready. PT works--it gave me back full strength and use of my right arm 6 years ago! We've formed a bit of a sweet, sisterly bond, exemplifying II Corinthians 1:3-4:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort by which we are comforted by God."

Another surprise was awaiting me, thanks to the fact that two of my buddies decided to sit further back and leave me with an open seat next to me, hmm! I'd think they were meanies if we didn't love each other so much!! A sister new to me scooted over into the seat next to me. We said hi; since she was new to study, she hadn't a book, so I offered to let her look on with me.

Our leader Robin asked us to take three minutes to share with the person next to us a few matters, large or small, that were on our minds, that we'd talked to the Lord about, so I told my neighbor my concerns with Steve having a cold and my grandsons' visit. Now this next is unbelievable! She said, "My 86 year old mother has Alzheimer's and my 87 year old father is trying to take care of her. They've been on my heart a lot lately." Praise "the God and Father of all comfort"--this total stranger was just beginning her journey coping with a disease whose implications are as tangled as a victim's neurons, and God sat her right next to me! When I told her what we've been going through, she was overwhelmed with amazement. "God brought me here to sit next to you," she declared. We exchanged phone numbers. (I gave her my blog address, since the only reason I write is to encourage others daily). The two of us will be communicating, because her family is now coming into a fairly advanced stage of her mom's degeneration. She will need plenty of support.

Many times we are looking for an enjoyable time of fellowship, worship, and focus on God's word, but are not necessarily expecting miracles. I think it's time to raise the bar of expectation!

Believers in Christ, do not hesitate to hope--God's got it!