And God-things aren't always wonderful...spectacular....great. Sometimes they are simple, ordinary....special all the same.
The day started with a rainbow outside my front door. I love rainbows. And I know that they aren't always just for me....take today....I was having a sort of disconnected morning....nothing was really coming together as I was trying to leave the house....
....and for the record, the entire day was that way....disconnected.
I stepped outside. There was this nice rainbow. And then I remembered what today was....June 3.
It was Mimi's birthday.
Mimi was my mother's mother. My grandmother. She has been gone from me for many years.
I stood there in awe of God's faithfulness. There is no doubt that God allowed Mimi to slip through a crack between heaven & earth....for just a few minutes....to smile on me...today....
As if to say, "it's ok, little darling, I am right here....always."
Yep. This time it was MY rainbow. It was definitely a God-thing.
Later in the morning I checked my inbox. Just a few minutes after I headed down the street, a friend had sent me an email with a picture of....you guessed it....the rainbow. Seems she encountered it on her way this morning, too.
It was cool. In her picture, it appears that the rainbow is ending in the back of the dump truck on the road just in front of her. Wow! She was sure that rainbow was "hers"....and she wanted to share it with me because she knows I collect rainbow pictures.
It was definitely a God-thing.
All through the day, I allowed myself to wander back to Mimi. It's been sometime since I've allowed myself to just miss her. I was her only granddaughter and we were very close. Our relationship was full of love & very special.
Mimi loved God. When I was a small child, she lived in downtown Little Rock and would take me along to one of those downtown churches. It was beautiful & solemn with stained glass windows.
As I moved into my preteen years, she & Gee moved to "the farm". It was a few acres at the foot of Pinnacle Mountain which is now considered part of Little Rock. Back then, it was a pretty good drive from town. During those years, she attended a small, country church. Services there involved a lot of standing & singing & standing & singing.
Later, after Gee died, she moved into Plaza Towers. For the remainder of her life, she attended church at the small neighborhood church that I had grown up in.
Mimi taught me about faith by the way she lived her life. She prayed about everything. She read her Bible often. She was a faithful volunteer who gave her time & energy to a wide range of causes. It was not uncommon for her to be asked to prepare the invocation or lead the prayer at large and small gatherings.
Mimi probably really didn't give much thought to God-things. She was more miracle minded, I think. There's wasn't much that God did....or could do....that surprised her. And I am grateful for her sharing those beliefs with me year-after-year....even though it took quite a long time for me to reach the place in my walk to know God in the same confident way.
Mimi loved pretty things. Clothes. A nice table setting. Flowers. Every meal at her house was an occasion. There were lovely tablecloths or festive handsewn placemants at every seat. And an arrangement of her own design to set the tone for whatever we were celebrating.
Sometimes it was simply time together....that was celebration enough.
She was known throughout her circles of friends & acquaintances for her floral arranging talents. Everyone who knew her knew that she loved flowers. Daisies were her favorite.
Pretty tables. Flowers. Kindness. Faith. These are the things I remember most about Mimi. And she loved me unconditionally.
A lot of who I am is a reflection of her. And even though I am far from perfect, I think she would be proud of who I am today.....the things that are important to me....my values & my faith.
The rainbow this morning reminded me of Mimi's passing....and the miracle that immediately followed. It was bigger than a God-thing....it was a plain & simple miracle.
During Mimi's last days, she was hindered by diminished eyesight. It had been a long time since she'd been able to drive herself. That never slowed her down. That morning she baked two pies. One for herself....or maybe for some company that would be coming for a meal in the next day or so. And one for her neighbor who lived a few floors down who couldn't get around so well.
I wasn't living here at the time. We talked often. Several times a week.
So as the pies were cooling, she called to tell me about her day. After our conversation, she left her apartment with the pie & went to visit her shut-in neighbor. When her visit was done, she entered the elevator on the third floor of her building and when the doors opened on the fifth floor ....her floor....she was found there on the elevator.
Just like that she was gone. And in the elevator where she would be found quickly....not alone in her apartment where it might have been days before anyone realized that something was amiss. It was a blessing....yes, THAT was a God-thing!
So the family gathered. Arrangements were made. And flowers began arriving. On the day of the funeral, there were so many beautiful flowers it was as if you were lost in a garden. Mimi would have loved that.
After the graveside service, flowers were sent home with friends & family. Flowers were dispatched to the church. And gorgeous sprays of fresh cut flowers were left at the cemetery.
It was mid-week....September....and it was HOT! The sprays were taken off their stands. The water ran out onto the ground. And Mimi was covered in a lovely blanket of flowers.
Several days passed. The things that had to be taken care of immediately were handled. It was time for my mother & I to return to our respective homes....out-of-town. On the way to catch my flight, my mother & decided to stop by the cemetery for one last visit with Mimi.
It was hot. There hadn't been a drop of rain in the days since the funeral. Surely the flowers had all dried up & withered in the heat.
Imagine our surprise when we arrived there and found ALL of the arrangements....laying on the ground....in full bloom....unwithered....glorious, vibrant, beautiful....ALIVE!
There is no doubt that Mimi had been there tending to her flowers....making sure that they were watered & cared for until we returned....it was her way of letting us know that all was well....
All was well.
It's a true story. Honest.
The arrangements looked as if they had been delivered fresh from the florist. My mom decided to take two of the arrangements back to my brother's house with her to "replace" some of the flowers that hadn't lasted the week....inside with constant attention.
At the time, we were both too numb to fully understand the wonder of it.
But that's how God works sometimes. He shows us something today....that's special....but we don't really get it until sometime later....when we are ready....or we simply need a reminder....to believe.
Fast forward a few years. My mother and I were sharing a visit. It was shortly after her husband....my stepfather....had passed away.
And we wandered into a deep conversation about God....and faith....and the Bible. She asked me, "Do you really believe everything in the Bible is true? That it happened exactly the way it's told there?"
I looked at her a little stunned.
My mother had taken us to church regularly throughout our childhood. She taught Sunday School to five year olds....and she was asking ME if I believed that the stories of miracles....impossible things... in the Bible were true.
I said, "Yes, Mom, I do."
After a period of silence, I realized that possibly she was struggling....to believe.
It's easy for that to happen. Life just starts unfolding....things that aren't really good happen....and sometimes prayers seem to be unanswered. And you hurt...and you wonder....surely if God can do all of THOSE things, He wouldn't let these things happen in my life.
So I reminded her that we....she and I....had actually witnessed a miracle. One that was personal & that God had prepared just for us.
It wasn't grand....it wasn't earth-shattering....it wasn't important to anyone else...only she & I. It was impossible for those flowers to be alive. There was no logical explanation for it.
It was simply your garden-variety miracle.
She smiled. I think maybe we both cried a little. She had forgotten about the flowers.
Which is OK....God knows we all forget from time to time....He understands.
The really cool thing is that He doesn't ever forget about us. Even when it seems like He's no where around.
And on days like today....He sends us rainbows....as a reminder of His faithfulness....
You see, it's not that I had forgotten about the flowers....it's just that I hadn't thought about them in awhile.
Today was definitely disconnected. And for every random annoying thing....there was a weird implausible solution.
So it was perfectly natural, I think....for God to remind me of the flowers....of miracles.... today....on Mimi's birthday....with a rainbow....
It was definitely a God-thing.
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