Have you ever been visited by an angel?  Have you ever been stopped in your tracks with a sense that you are not alone?  I have!  More than once….

Just this morning, as I walked through my kitchen toward the boiling tea kettle, I felt the presence of a dear friend who entered Heaven a few months ago.  She so loved her tea, and I so loved her.

Many years ago, God allowed our lives to intersect for too brief a time, but despite how brief our time living next to each other was, we developed a deep and lasting bond of friendship.  Looking back, I do not know what I contributed to her life, in those brief months, but I certainly know what she contributed to mine.  She was the biblical model of wife and mother, and an inspiration to this young newlywed at the time.

Far sooner than I wanted, the military took them away but we remained in close touch.  They visited us when life and work brought them back to the area but we never visited them, until last summer.

I will forever be thankful that I made the trip which allowed me to see my dear friend a few months before she died.  We broke bread together.  We prayed together.  We attended Sunday worship together.  We held hands and sang with abandon of our Faith.  And the night before I left, we attended Bible Study together.  In those three days, God allowed us to strengthen and complete the tapestry of our friendship, begun so many years ago.  I did not share my struggle with drinking with her, but I know she sensed I was dealing with something.  Without knowing specifics, she encouraged me in her gentle way, at a time when I was trying to encourage her.  She was like that, always thinking of others.

Earlier this morning I did not know what, or if, I would write today.  Thank you, dear friend, for coming to me and allowing me to dwell in the joy of our special friendship, while shedding a few tears.  Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea. Let’s visit again soon.