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Somewhere between twenty and thirty,
between euphoria and a patched-up, pieced-together heart
you begin to realize what it means to be human,
what it means to give and to receive,
to praise with a cracked and trembling voice.
It is then you learn that sometimes
you cannot hear God
without first finding a cave to listen in,
and it is then you are wizened one moment
and just a babe crying for comfort the next.
It is then you measure friends
by the strength of the cords that bind your hearts,
by the way your diaphragm aches after laughter,
your eyes swell shut after tears,
and your soul pines for God.
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I'm twenty-six now. Thank you, friends who are reading this and friends who aren't, for being both ballast and wind as I've needed them this year. You are a true comfort, a true joy, a true gift.
My family (of the church variety) just completely blew my mind today by giving me a whole bunch of money towards a new car. I don't deserve it, but I feel so loved and so cared for. It's not the money so much as the love that makes me feel overwhelmed, humbled, and young, so young. Beautiful people, beautiful body of Christ.
God is a puzzle, but He helps us find pieces as we need them.
Twenty-six finds me grateful for each of you, brothers, sisters, mother, nieces, nephews, friends. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear your church family was sensitive to your needs and chose to minister to you in a concrete, practical expression of the love of Christ.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. It took me completely by surprise. I had to read the card a couple of times to make sure it said what I thought it did. :)
DeleteSomehow I thought Johnson's had some kind of dispensation from God to drive those sorts of cars. Could not figure out how you kept it on the road otherwise.
ReplyDeleteHopefully your new car will last as long.
Perhaps so. :) Dad was pretty handy with cars, too, and that helped. You could always tell a Johnson by their mode of travel. I hope the new car, once it's picked out, doesn't upset the order of things too much... I feel like I'll be leaving the family fold, not skirting on the edge of disaster any more.
DeleteAt least Abby still has her van. That ought to hold the order of things together for a little while.
DeleteAgreed. :)
DeleteI'm thankful that God uses many hands and hearts to care for you, Deb, in ways big and small. It is a comfort to see His people loving this well.
ReplyDeletep.s. On a slimly related note, our van-- whose muffler is missing a limb or two and is now loud enough to start the zombie apocolypse-- just passed inspection, including emissions! I thought it was due to our understanding mechanic, but now I know it's a dispensation that can't be refused. :)
I'm thankful, too, and feel pretty humbled by it. And hurray for dispensation-caused-inspection-passing-zombie-apocalypse vans!
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