It was 5:45 a.m.  The kind of morning where sleep departs in the early dawn and the alarm clock resting on the night stand still remains silent.  Lying supine, the soft linen sheets enveloped me under a warm cotton blanket. Without warning, a high pitch ringing in my ears turned into a deafening roar of rushing waters inside my head.  It made me believe I was going to faint.  “This can’t happen”, I panicked, “I’m all alone.”  Immediately the overflowing sensation of a fountainhead bursting with heavy floodwaters coursed through my body.  The intensity maximized as it rushed within my head past my chest, pulled down my arms, swept over my abdomen, and streamed through my legs before exiting out the tips of my toes. Upon fulfillment, my entire being shivered with piercing goosebumps.  In panic, I thought to myself, “Oh, no, I’m having a stroke!”  At that moment of powerlessness, I heard the Still Small Voice of God speak, “It’s a washing of the Holy Spirit.”  

Philippians 4:7; “And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds together in Christ Jesus.”  Discover the saving grace of Jesus Christ as you journey to the Easter cross in celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.

Maybe you had a best friend who turned into a fair-weather one at the moment you needed her most; at the break-up of a long term relationship when your world was spinning out of control.  She boldly chose the “ex” over your need for emotional support. The friendship was severed beyond repair.  Words were never spoken again. Forgive her anyway.  It’s easier to absolve than you think. Often it takes more energy to hold on to inner pain than it does to let it go. Slide your mind all the way back to the “Thelma and Louise” season in time when the two of you confessed insecurities, whispered disappointments, shared hopes, and imagined dreams together over a glass of wine.  Or two.  Remember the laughter?  And the way her  eyes teared up to the point of hysteria?  The feeling of audacious brassiness?  And don’t forget the sincere trust and uninhibited honesty.  This sisterly love connection is the perfect vantage point for forgiveness.  Go ahead. Open the nostalgic floodgates to the Memory Box of your mind.  Release the waters of sentimental longing. Experience a taste of wistful yearning for the joy and happiness felt during the good times.  And never, EVER, make your forgiveness conditional.   “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” ~ Ephesians 4:32.

“What’s going to happen to me?”, asked the 84 year-old woman upon hearing sad news. Her oldest child, who had been a pillar of strength since her stroke five years ago, was moving away.  “Who’s going to take care of me?”, she worried.  Marian was living in a nursing home ever since she survived a debilitating stroke to her entire left side during the holiday season of 2009.  Because she was living alone at the time and had just hung up the phone from a conversation with her grandson, no one became alarmed when they hadn’t heard from her for awhile. They were accustomed to her self-sufficiency between trips to the market, feeding the birds, and exercising walks.  Oh sure, everyone tried to convince her she needed an answering machine, but she refused.  When the stroke hit her, she crumbled to the floor in fear and laid there for hours before being discovered.  As darkness turned to light, and returned again to dusk, all Marian could do was pray.