Kissed by the Spirit

“From afar the Lord appears:

With age old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. Again I will build you, and you shall stay built, virgin Israel.”

Jeremiah 31:3-4 (NAB)

Once in a while the prophets write something that clicks with where we are at in our current lives. As I read the words of Jeremiah in today’s scripture, even though God is speaking to the exiled people of Israel at the time, the message is timeless, and applies to every believer as well.

The Lord gives us this special description of His love. Other bible versions call it ‘everlasting love,’ but the original Hebrew bible says ‘Age old love’, so I’m going with that version, which is probably what Jeremiah originally wrote.

To say to His people, ‘With age old love I have loved you,’ sounds like God wants us to know that He has loved us for a very long time, and through the many changes and phases of our lives. He was there and watched us grow in times of maturing obedience, which made Him smile like a proud Father. There were times that our choices led to distraction as we slipped a little farther away, but the Lord kept pursuing us, by directing His mercy toward us. 

In all the changes that occurred in our lives over the years, God stays with us, because He never changes. He has held, carried and restored us as needed, because of His ‘age old love’ for us, which brings with it, age old mercy.

We could never earn that kind of love, since it’s unconditional. Daniel called Him the Ancient of Days, but Jesus called Him Father, teaching us that He is also ‘Our Father.’ This paternal, ancient, age old love that God has for us, becomes more meaningful the older we get.

Speaking of old age, studies have shown that seniors who have regular contact with friends of faith and are connected to a church community, are aging in better health and are happier than seniors who live a more  isolated lifestyle. In my church, there are many seniors, some even 90 and older, who live alone but independently, and regularly drive themselves to church each week. 

I don’t mean just driving to church on Sunday, but several days a week. They participate in various church groups, meetings and activities. There is a group that meets for coffee every day, after the morning mass. There are men’s groups, women’s groups, widow’s groups, scripture study groups, and various faith sharing groups, who meet routinely with their community of faith. 

This routine of combining faith, aging and fellowship is keeping the oldest among us, healthy, independent and living with deep peace and a sense of well being. 

Whether we are aware of Him or not, God’s ‘age old love’ always has, and still is, reaching out to remind us that He has been there throughout our life story and is still with us. He never changes with the changes and phases in our lives, because He is the One who sustains us with ‘age old love.’

Lord, thank you for all the years of your faithful, steadfast love, that surrounded us when we were unaware and still surrounds today. Amen

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”

Psalm 130:5 (NIV)

Hope is frail when we take our eyes off of God, which seems to be a recurrent theme throughout scripture. Samson was given the gift of physical strength, and won every fight against the Philistine oppressors. He was called by God to deliver his people until he was deceived by a woman named Delilah. She led him into a trap where he was captured, blinded and shackled. Samson and his people began losing hope for their freedom, but God wasn’t finished yet.

The Lord restored Samson’s strength one last time, to break out of his shackles, and blindly find the support pillars of the arena, where thousands of Philistines gathered to mock and watch him die, but instead, Samson regained strength and delivered his people through his own death that day.

Hannah, in the Old Testament, was beyond the age for child bearing, yet she never stopped hoping. She finally gave birth to a son and Samuel became one of the greatest prophets and advisors in all Israel. In the New Testament, a similar story is told about Elizabeth, who had the same kind of hope as Hannah. In her advanced age, Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist. Scripture teaches us that age and time are no match for hope. God hears our prayers and knows how long we have waited, and does beyond whatever we hoped for.

The Exodus story is the best example of how hope is often challenged. Moses did exactly what God told him to do, and told Pharaoh exactly what God told him to say, but things didn’t happen as Moses and the people expected.

Pharaoh rejected Moses’ plea and stopped supplying straw to the slaves, so that they had to gather their own straw to make bricks, and their labor became twice as difficult. The people were furious with Moses and blamed him for making their lives even worse. Moses simply obeyed God and wondered what God was doing. The ultimate plan of God was to free them from slavery, but they lost hope, by focusing only on their present hardships.

When prayers don’t seem to be answered, instead of giving us the reasons why, God gave us stories in scripture to rekindle our hope. He reminds us that He has the best plan even when we don’t understand it. 

It’s a theme that echoes through scripture. Peter and Elijah, both lost hope for a moment in time, when things seemed to be getting worse.  Peter driven by his fears, denied knowing Jesus, and then hid himself in shame. Elijah hid in a cave from those seeking to kill him, and begged God to take his life. Both men had great victories lying ahead of them, but needed their hope in God restored.

The exodus story shows us that people faced the most difficult challenges before the greatest miracles happened. It’s a lesson of finding patience to keep hope while we wait. Moses and the people had no clue that God was planning something so big, that the laws of nature would be defied. Parting the waters of the sea provided the greatest deliverance in history. The Lord is a big God, who has a bigger and better plan than we could ever imagine, as we trust and keep our hope in Him.

Lord, help us to wait and to act with hope for your better plan and the victory that lies ahead. Amen

“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.”

Luke 2:46-47 (RSV)

Jesus is not much different today, than when He was twelve. He still sits in a temple each day, hoping to talk with us. The Bible says that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19)

His Spirit dwells in us, waiting to have a talk each day, even if we are unaware or preoccupied with other thoughts. He is patiently waiting and hoping we will talk with Him, or meditate about Him, and maybe even ask and answer questions with Him. 

Temple talks give Jesus a place of honor in our lives, by taking us to a deeper place in our relationship with Him. He gave us gifts and talents, and in our temple talks He shows us how He wants us to use those gifts. He may bring a person to our mind and ask us to pray for them or call them. Temple talks lead us to use our God given skills for the good of others, as in the following story. 

Edward Stone was an ordained minister/priest in England, in the 18th century. He had a curiosity to explore herbal medicine cures. 

As an ordained clergyman, he probably had a daily temple talk with Jesus, which inspired him to do some research. In 1763, he published a research paper on Willow tree bark that proved to reduce fevers in patients with Malaria.

Hippocrates wrote about tree bark’s usage in curing fevers back in the 4th century, but it wasn’t widely recognized until Edward Stone documented and published it. He dried tree bark, ground it into powder, tried it out himself and then fed it to 50 patients with fever and pain. Their fevers were lowered and their pain relieved.

He was the first to publish the results that tree bark was a successful treatment for pain and fever. 

He laid the groundwork for others who found a way to refine the active ingredient in the tree bark, which is ‘salicylic acid’ or what we now know as ‘aspirin’. It became the breakthrough drug of the day. A temple talk with Jesus can turn a thought into an action, and some actions end up impacting the whole world.

Jesus’ parents found Him in the Temple after they searched for Him three days. Maybe He still wants us to search for Him each day through a temple talk, where we ask or answer His questions, or listen in amazement to what He has to say. He shines His light on us by inspiring us to use the gifts and talents we were given. Then He shows us how to take what was given and go into the world to make a difference.

Lord, help us to always search for you in a temple talk each day and enlighten us on how we can make a difference in the world around us. Amen

“He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

John 21:17 (NAB)

This conversation took place after the resurrection, when Jesus was making His last appearances to certain people over a period of forty days. He went to Peter, asking him three times if he loved Him, and Peter told Jesus, “Lord, you already know.”

Jesus did already know, but He still asked him three times in a row. Maybe He knew that Peter was still paralyzed with shame and felt unworthy, after denying the Lord three times. Jesus wasn’t interested in the past, only if he loved Him in that present moment.

It proves that God doesn’t dwell on our past failures or the sins already forgiven, so neither should we. He is always working among us in the present tense. Jesus seemed to be saying to Peter, 

“Forget the past, do you love me today? Now let’s move forward with the good plans I have for you.”

In another questioning moment, the disciples were telling Jesus what the crowd was saying about Him, but Jesus brought it back to  them, asking, 

“But who do you say that I am?”

He wasn’t interested in the crowd’s opinion, but wanted to know what was in their hearts in that present moment.

Next, Jesus encountered a paralyzed man at the healing pool of Bethesda, and asked him an obvious question, 

“Do you want to be healed ?” Instead of answering with a simple “Yes, Lord”, the man proceeded to ramble on about the past 38 years, that no one ever helped him into the healing pool. Jesus ignored his story about the past and just said,

“Pick up your mat and walk.”

God already knows our story, He knows all of our disappointments, betrayals and losses, but He calls us to stay in the present moment. There is no time or space in Heaven, because everything is in the present tense, therefore we should live in the present tense. 

A woman I knew from a church I once attended was diagnosed with a sarcoma which is a form of bone cancer. In her distress, she went to the church when it was empty and just sat in the pew praying. While sitting alone in silence, she felt Jesus speak clearly to her heart, asking, 

“Don’t you trust Me?”

She said yes and resolved to trust the Lord from that day on. After her medical treatment, the cancer never came back, and that was decades ago. 

When reflecting on the kind of questions Jesus asks, He hopes the answers from our heart are:

“Yes Lord, I love you, I believe you are the Son of God, and Lord, I trust you for healing.” 

Those are essential answers to essential questions. Jesus always leads us to forgive, to be forgiven, to receive healing, to become a messenger of the good news, and to feed His sheep.

God is writing a beautiful story, and we all have a part in it. As we stay in the present, hearing what Jesus is asking us, He moves us forward, beyond all our failures, fears and insecurities. That’s what it means to spiritually pick up our mat and start walking. 

Lord, help us to hear and answer your questions, and to stay in the present with you, so that we may be healed and bless others. Amen

“You have searched me, Lord,
 and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.“

Psalm 139:1-4 (NIV)

I had an experience two years ago that assured me that God knows our thoughts, without a doubt. It was a year after his motorcycle accident, after waking up from a coma, my son, Jon, was placed in a Nursing Facility. At that time he was not walking, wore a diaper, was fed through a stomach tube, and did not speak at all. I talked to him with each visit, hoping to get some sign that he understood me. I remember thinking if he could only communicate. Then one day he surprised me.

After his brain surgery a part of his skull was kept off due to brain swelling, and that piece of skull bone was kept in a sterile medical freezer at the hospital, to be surgically replaced once the brain swelling was gone. 

While visiting Jon one day, he did something unusual. He reached out, took my hand and put it on his head, right where the skull bone was missing. Without  words, he was asking why his head was so soft in that area. I told him about the motorcycle accident and the skull fracture, followed by brain surgery. Then I explained that the bone would be replaced in a few months. He listened and nodded his head yes, as if he understood me. 

It was an amazing breakthrough moment, which revealed that Jon had enough thought process to wonder about his own condition. When I used to see him touching his head, I assumed that he had a headache, but now I know that he was feeling his skull and curious about the missing bone, on the left side. 

Since he was physically unable to articulate speech he found a different way of asking me what happened. It was the first time he communicated using a gesture, and it worked for him and showed me that he is not only thinking but understood my answer by nodding.

The bone flap was surgically replaced a few months afterward, when all brain swelling was gone. That was two years ago and this September it will be three years since the accident. Jon now  walks on his own, is starting to use a toilet, and feeds himself with his left hand since his right arm remains paralyzed. He likes to browse through family photos and videos of my cat or dog. Andy is a resident about Jon’s age, whose parents visit regularly and we became friends. Martha and Ray occasionally bring along their little pet chihuahua, Jaime, to visit. One day, Jon smiled at Jaime, then he pointed to the dog and said, “So cute.” He is now starting to use words to speak at random moments. 

I showed him a photo of himself, when he was in the ICU, in a coma after his accident, to remind him how he got here. He took the phone into his hands and stared intently at his photo. He looked bewildered and serious but kept staring at it for a few minutes, and then gave the phone back to me, as if he understood.

These last few years made me aware in a new way, that God knows our thoughts before we say a word. He perceived what was in my mind, hoping Jon could communicate, as well as Jon’s own thoughts and questions. He answered my prayer as well as Jon’s questions, even though he could not articulate them verbally. 

Today’s scripture says that God knows our thoughts before a word is spoken. He is fully in tune with our needs even when we cannot speak. The twists and turns of this life are much easier to cope with, knowing that a loving and good God is always reading our mind and heart, whether we put our thoughts into words or not. 

Lord, thank you for your constant presence, and steadfast love and attention to all we think or ask in prayer. Help us to keep our hearts open to you. Amen 

“When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying? “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.”

John 1:37-39 (NIV)

Andrew and another disciple walked behind Jesus, following Him until He turned and asked them what they wanted. They only wanted to go wherever Jesus was going, so they asked where He was staying and Jesus invited them, by saying “Come and see.”

Jesus knew that they would see more than where He was staying. The two disciples were in the crowd when John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God. Andrew and the other disciple, (most likely John), both followed Jesus from that day onward. 

The gospel tells us that they basically hung out with Jesus from early morning until 4 pm that day. They spent as long a time with Jesus as one would spend in a full day’s work, and they never returned to their former lifestyle again, but continued to follow Jesus. 

Then after spending the day with Him, Andrew quickly went to find Peter, his brother, to bring him to Jesus as well. It shows the magnitude of influence that one person can have on another person’s faith.

Andrew brought his brother Peter, John brought his brother James, and Philip brought his friend Nathaniel, to Jesus. Most people came to Jesus through one on one relationships. As one told the other, the word about the new Rabbi spread like wildfire, and in the words of a baby boomer, the beat goes on. Peter became a major influence as a leader in the early church, and we can thank Andrew for being his spark, after spending a day with Jesus. 

I try to visualize myself walking behind Jesus, as those disciples did, but I would have probably thought He was too busy, with places to go and people to see but Jesus stopped, turned and looked at Andrew and John behind Him, inviting them to come closer to see and know for themselves. So they hurried ahead and walked beside Jesus for the rest of the day.

It’s so typical of Jesus, to focus on one person at a time. He spoke to crowds but He was a ‘one on one’ kind of Rabbi. He wanted His followers to come close and walk beside Him, instead of from a distance. Scripture stories always have a special meaning for the readers. We may go to church every week, be a part of a large congregation, but Jesus still sees us as individual persons. He calls us out of the crowd to come closer and walk beside Him.

He knows what is on our minds as we drive to church, and He knows the anxiety or weariness that we are we carrying within us. He knows what we’ve dealt with last week and He knows what our next week will be like. He never stops inviting us to come closer, to give us strength and courage, assuring us that He will always be with us.

The more we come to Jesus, the more natural it is to share Him with someone else, as those first disciples did. A basic message Jesus left for everyone, is to come and see, meaning come and know Him for yourselves. 

Jesus clearly defined what it means to come to Him. He said, 

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” 

(Matthew 11:28-30) 

That is a specific invitation from Jesus to come and receive a daily dose of His rest, by pausing to lay our weary heads upon His humble heart, giving Him permission to lighten our burdens, so that we can travel light through this problem filled life, as He walks closely beside us.

Lord, help us to hear you calling us to come closer, so that we may walk beside you, rather than at a distance, all the remaining days of our lives. Amen

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15:9 (NIV)

As I read these words of Jesus, a thought came to me that just might be too wondrous to express adequately in words, but I will try anyway. 

Before all creation, there was love. Imagine an infinite God, who has no beginning and no end, who before creating the solar system, the planets, or any living thing, existed in a state of divine perpetual love with His Son and His Spirit. 

Then, in one timeless moment, God said, “Let us make man in our image”, and humanity was made in His image with the capacity to love and be loved. The God who is love, created us to also love and be loved by Him. 

Despite this, the word love is oddly absent in the first half of the book of Genesis. Even in the Garden of Eden story, with Adam and Eve, the word love is never once mentioned. In the chapters following creation, things just kept getting worse, but the word love is still absent from scripture until the 22nd chapter of Genesis. Those earlier chapters were actually a little depressing to say the least. 

Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, their son Cain killed his brother Abel, which was the first murder since creation. The population grew but people chose to do evil, and all were corrupted until a flood washed the whole world away, to start it new with one surviving family of Noah.

God called everything He created in the beginning, good, but His creation didn’t choose good. God made a covenant with Noah, sealed with a visible sign of a rainbow. Still, there was no mention of ‘love’ until He spoke to Abraham one day saying, 

“Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

Genesis 22:2 (NIV)

The first time the word love is ever mentioned in scripture, relates to the love of a Father for his only son, and the request to sacrifice him. As we read it we can’t help but wonder, can this story ever get better? The story of Abraham and Isaac was a foretaste of a greater Father with His son, who offers a greater sacrifice in the future. Despite what God asked of Abraham, He was never going to let Abraham kill Isaac, because God already had a ram, waiting nearby, for the sacrifice. 

God used the story as an example to teach us what love is, that love and sacrifice are inseparable. It was a foreshadowing of a day to come, when our heavenly Father would offer a final atoning sacrifice for us through His son.

There’s always been an infinite union of love between God the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. God is a good Father, and He desires to bring all people into that union, through a relationship with His Son. Love is infinite, and it has no end, but was explained first through a Father’s love, because God, our Father, loves us and illustrated it sacrificially. 

Jesus emphasized His love for the Father and the Father’s love for us. He taught us to address God as ‘Our Father’ when we pray. He told us, as the Father has loved Him, so He has loved us. He used the story of the prodigal son, to reinforce the truth of God’s paternal and unconditional love. 

The love of the Father was manifested in everything Jesus said and did, all the way to the cross and empty tomb. We have a good Father who draws us close to Him when our faith and hope is tested or shaken, because that’s  what good fathers do. All things cannot last forever, but faith, hope and love will, but the greatest of these is love. Jesus asked that we remain in His love, which might involve sacrifice. It means acting on His behalf, carrying our cross with confidence that our Father in Heaven, loves us and is with us forever. 

Lord, thank you for the examples of Abraham and Isaac, and Your Father’s infinite, paternal love for us, so that we may always remain in your love. Amen

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Proverbs 16:24 (RSV)

A Christian neurosurgeon who lost his son at 19 years of age, wrote a book, in which he states that “it’s not the painful trials of our lives that determine our future, but how we choose to think about them.” ( Dr. Lee Warren)

Today’s scripture verse says that pleasant words heal the body and the soul. Science has found that how we choose to think really does affect our health. Words can influence thoughts and thoughts matter. Science and faith actually complement each other, agreeing that pleasant words and good thoughts bring healing as Serotonin is released into our bodies, which is the feel good hormone. 

Pleasant words may come in a conversation with a friend or a stranger. Words connect us with others, and can come at a time needed to lift a heavy heart, and change a pattern of thought.

About seven months ago, I sat next to a total stranger at my hair salon appointment. We struck up a conversation after learning that we both had the same back pain originating from the same spinal level. We both also worked in health care for many years. Her name is Ruth and she’s a retired nurse who worked at a different hospital than I did, but we knew some of the same doctors. 

Her son is a neurosurgeon in Texas, and I worked with neurosurgeons in the Chicago area. Ruth and I bonded immediately and shared many stories. Since our appointments didn’t overlap after that, we didn’t see each other again for seven months.

Last week at my scheduled salon appointment, we ended up sitting next to each other again. We were so happy to see each other and catch up on where we left off. We talked for about 45 minutes straight, which made our hair appointments go by quickly. I left the salon that day, feeling blessed to reconnect with Ruth. 

I had many things to be stressed about before going to the salon that day. My son Michael is not handling his divorce situation very well, and his well being was weighing on my mind lately. Although I never mentioned him to Ruth, our conversation was so therapeutic. We shared things in common, with pleasant words that sweetened our souls, and I left feeling refreshed and blessed.

The next day, I ran a quick errand to the hospital where I used to work. I needed to have my entry badge fixed, which is used for my volunteer service. On my way to the security office, I saw a man talking to someone in the hallway. I recognized him as a nurse who I once worked with in the operating room fifteen years ago, who left for a different job.

I stopped and looked at him, and he looked at me at the same time. I said “Archie?” He said, “Maria?”and then we hugged each other. We chatted briefly, as I learned that he works in a different area of the same hospital. It was a pleasant surprise with pleasant words that had the same soul sweetening effect as meeting Ruth in the hair salon the day before. 

Pleasant words form pleasant thoughts, that fill our hearts with gratitude, which is a healing balm to the soul. May the Lord surround us with pleasant words that sweeten and heal our souls, and may all world leaders find the healing balm of words that brings peace to the nations. 

Lord, help us choose thoughts of gratitude, and let pleasant words reap the sweet healing balm effect on our mind, body, and soul. Amen

“The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.”

John 4:25-26. (NASB)

Jesus respected the social, religious and cultural customs of His day, as long as they centered primarily on a love for God and others, but He ignored those customs when He needed to reach out to a particular person.

It was not customary in Jesus’ time for a man to speak to a woman alone, but He crossed that boundary when He had a private conversation with an unnamed woman at the well. He left such a powerful impact on her, that she couldn’t stop telling others that she met a man who told her everything about herself. 

We also have social customs today, from words used to greet others, to the phrases we say when departing, like have a good day, or by ‘liking’ a friend’s FB post. They are all forms of cultural etiquette. We routinely greet people saying, “How are you?” although it’s not customary to stay around and find out how they really are. It’s more of a greeting that we say in passing. 

If Jesus visited our society today, He might ask someone, “How are you?” but pause to look directly into their eyes and wait for an honest answer. It would be hard to walk away from the warm, loving presence and powerful glance of Jesus. 

That’s most likely how He approached the woman at the well that day. It wasn’t as random a meeting as it appeared to be, since Jesus purposely stayed behind while His disciples went into town to buy food. He waited at that particular well, for a particular woman to show up. His divine nature knew all that was weighing down her heart, after many failed relationships, while she was on her sixth one. 

Jesus said something very unusual to her, which wasn’t heard in a casual conversation. He said, “I am He”. As we read this story, He seems to be saying it to all of us as well. Whatever we long for, whoever we look to, and however we expect satisfaction in our lives, Jesus seems to be saying to us, 

“I am He, I am the one, and only I am the answer to what you need.”

Jesus broke rules but healed many broken hearts. He frustrated the traditionalists but gave hope and peace to the outcasts and the hopeless, because no custom, religious rule or man made laws are greater than His compassion for souls. 

Jesus doesn’t need to ask how we are, because He already knows how we are, but He wants us to know who He is. He wants everyone, man or woman, who live with heavy hearts, to know that He is there and ‘He is the one’ who loves us enough to break through social and religious customs and cross all boundaries, just to touch us and say that it’s going to be okay, because He’s got us.

Lord, you are the One, who knows us more than anyone, and today we pray for spiritual, mental and physical healing and wholeness for us and our loved ones. Amen

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

Absolutely nothing separates us from the love of God, not even death. I am sharing a story of a childhood memory I have of a sweet little neighbor girlfriend that I once played with. Mary Margaret O’Connor was an only child of Irish immigrants who lived a few doors away from me. We used to play together and even though she was five and I was ten, I noticed something very special and charismatic about her. 

My mother used to take the city bus to and from work each day. After she got off the bus at the end of her day, she would walk down our street to come back home. As soon as Mary Margaret spotted my mother coming, she stopped playing and ran down the street and right into my mother’s arms. My mother would hug and kiss Mary Margaret as if she were a part of the family. I always used to wonder why Mary Margaret was so excited to see my mother. 

Later I realized that my mother and Mary Margaret both had the same outgoing, charismatic and affectionate nature, which is why they connected to quickly. Those were very special moments that Mary Margaret and my mother had each day. 

I was thinking of Mary Margaret recently, and wondered where she is today and if there was any way to contact her. I started searching for her on line and was led to an obituary article published by the Chicago Sun Times in June of 2016. It referred to her growing up in Chicago, and named her school which was in my neighborhood. It described her as a passionate lady who sang and danced, and tutored the special education students in her church, as well as starting a ministry for divorcees in her home church, St. James, in Arlington Heights. 

The article also mentioned a dimple in her chin and then I knew without a doubt, that it was the same Mary Margaret from my childhood. I was amazed to learn that Mary Margaret was living close by me before passing away.  She has two children, Billy and Caileen, so I searched Facebook to try and message her daughter. 

I found Caileen on Facebook and shared my memories of her mom as my childhood friend, while wondering if I would receive an answer. Caileen answered me the next day, saying that my message warmed her heart and it was received on the day she was in the ER. Caileen called the timing of my message, a “Godwink,” meaning it might seem like coincidence but it was of divine origin. 

She obviously felt that her mom was sending her a sign that day, by especially watching over her during her ER visit. It was the Holy Spirit who put Mary Margaret on my mind that particular day, and prompt me to search for her daughter on line. I regret not being able to reconnect with Mary Margaret while she was living,  but death doesn’t separate us as much as we assume it does. 

Death cannot separate us from the love of God, nor does it separate us from the love of a mother, or any other person in our lives, who has since passed away. Being inspired to search for my childhood friend, and then finding her obituary, led me to further search for her daughter, and message her, who ended up being in the ER on that exact day. 

I thank God for the connection with Mary Margaret’s daughter, Caileen, and I’m sure it 

won’t end there, since there are no coincidences with the Lord. When God starts something new, He intends to carry it through to completion. 

Lord, thank you for the perfect timing of people you bring into our lives, and for the souls of friends and loved ones who live forever, and continue to bless us today. Amen