mosses monday XLIX...

"God, take him now if he is ready;
but, if he is not ready. leave him,
and leave him whole!!!"
(i had never prayed so boldly in my life.)
...

THANK.YOU.GOD.
.
he was back

and

he was whole.

God knew before i
how important it was
for my prayer to be
answered completely.
to have kept him only alive
and not his
whole-mosses-self
was just not an option!

~@~

just days after mosses
had started to make his recovery,
i was at family night at church
when my preacher asked
if i would like to share
my experience.

(i don't know what 
methodist churches are like
in other areas,
but our church is/was not really
the touchy-feely,
sharing type.)

although it was not the norm
to do so,
i graciously accepted his invitation
to share.
ric handed me the microphone,
and i turned around
to face a roomful of my church family
and began to recount
mosses' story
of answered prayer.

from the expressions
i saw on their faces,
i knew they were receptive
and genuinely touched.
this made it so much easier
to tell mosses story.
when i was finished,
i looked all around
to see only smiles
and happy tears.

Emmanuel!
God was with me!

~@~

after taking my seat,
ric led a short prayer
before directing us to go
to our wednesday night Bible studies.
i gathered my things
and started walking across the room.
as i passed by her,
a woman grabbed my hand.
i stopped and turned to her.
the woman greeted my smile
with her scowl.

woman: you are selfish!
you should have let george
go on to his reward.

i stood in stunned
silence.

woman: who do you think you are?

i knew her question
was rhetorical.  
the last thing she wanted me to do
was answer,
which was good
because i had no words for her.

~@~

looking, eye-to-eye, at her,
i jerked my hand 
from the woman's tight grip,
turned, and
walked away from her 
as quickly as i could.

for a moment,
i thought about her words.
for a moment,
i questioned my actions.

then
by the grace of God,
i remembered,
it wasn't about me or even mosses,
and it certainly was not about her...
it was about God!
i felt a smile creep
back across my face.
i pulled up my chin,
and stretched back my shoulders.
i walked away from that woman
with a blessed assurance
only God could bestow.

and.i.never.looked.back.

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

ps. on my side-bar, you will find earlier entries entitled,
"our love story" 
in ascending order.