Divine Appointments

You would’ve never caught my Mom wearing pj pants to Walmart or anywhere in public looking like an unmade bed. She was a classic southern woman, well versed in proper manner and etiquette. No matter how old my sisters and I got, we often heard as we were walking out the door “aren’t you going to put some lipstick on?” 

After Mom went to heaven she didn’t need her beautiful earthly wardrobe any more. The super sentimental task of sorting through volumes of her dresses, blouses, sweaters, etc. was made less painful by my sister, Christie’s comment “Mom has EVERYTHING she needs now.” She was right. No beautiful dress or perfect shoes were needed for happiness in heaven. We knew Mom would be pleased if her clothes were passed on to bless others. She had a heart that reached infinitely beyond her blood relatives.

I knew of a couple of older ladies at the YMCA who were about Mom’s size so I asked if they would like to receive her wardrobe. Their immense joy in receiving was a gift to me.

I was particularly fond of one of them in particular, Ms. Rosie. I first met her a few years earlier when she learned to swim at the Y at age 80! I was drawn to her “nothing’s going to stop me”  attitude and how she had overcome hardships in her life with grit and unyielding faith. She was widowed in her 20’s and left with four young children to raise, the youngest just a year old at the time. She worked to give them a college education and the love of a mother AND father.

Ms. Rosie speaks slowly with a melodic southern drawl. The tone of her voice is so soothing, hearing it always stops me in my tracks. It’s like listening to Della Reese from “Touched by an Angel.” Like Della, Ms Rosie readily shares time-tested wisdom.

Six months after Mama went to heaven, Ms. Rosie showed up one day at the YMCA wearing one of her shirts. The sight brought me instant joy. She looked absolutely beautiful! During this period of time, Mom was still constantly on my mind. I knew she had physically died but I continued to feel her presence. I intensely craved to tangibly connect with her.

Ms. Rosie smiled when she saw me and walked up to me. She said, “The Lord knew I needed to see you today; I need to give you a message.” She added, I woke up in the middle of the night a few days ago thinking of you. The Lord told me to tell you that your Mom is with you.” I was so stunned, tears started gushing from my eyes. Ms. Rosie continued, “She’s with you and she lives through you and you need to carry-on her work. She wants you to liiiive.”

Not live, but liiiiiiive! 

I was overwhelmed. Standing on the sidewalk with sweet Ms Rosie, I could not speak as His presence and my Mom’s love welled up in my soul. This beautiful sweet woman connected me to the Divine.

After I collected myself, I went inside and told my friend Toni what had happened. She immediately said, “You had a divine appointment!”

About a year later, God sent another elderly African-American messenger to me. This time she was a total stranger in the waiting room of a doctors office.

By the time we discovered Mom’s cancer, it had spread so much we never really knew where it started. Wanting to be as proactive as possible for my own health, I decided to have a baseline abdominal MRI. 

I wasn’t worried about the scan results but I was very apprehensive of the actual MRI because I am somewhat claustrophobic. Right before the MRI I had to change into a pair of scrubs and wait in a small room. The only persons in that room were myself and two older African-American ladies. One was in street clothes, as if she was waiting on someone. No one spoke and it was unusually quiet in there. No tv. No cell phones. Just chairs and a clock, waiting for my name to be called.

I noticed the lady in street clothes was reading a Bible, a good old fashioned paper, turn-the-pages, bible! It struck me how captivated she was. Her finger scanned the words. She appeared to be gaining strength as she read. I was reminded of the power of those most sacred words and was wishing that she would read out loud so that the other lady and I waiting for a scan could also be inspired.

The silence was broken when the husband of the Bible reader came into the room. His scan was complete & he wanted to change clothes. She had to remind him where his clothes were & what room to go in. When he was changing I broke the ice by saying “He’s lucky to have you.” She then told me he had a brain scan because he’s been having excessive short term memory loss. I felt like she was wondering what I was there for and by that time I was quite anxious and was wondering what the heck I was there for too! I told her about Mom and that I was just trying to be proactive. I felt unusually vulnerable. She immediately spoke up & said “You’re going to be just fine because you know Him,” pointing upward. She added, “And you have work to do.” She paused and continued, “That’s the message I’m getting from Him.”

It was almost as if a lightening bolt came down from heaven and zapped me with grace. I went in for the MRI and it wasn’t near as bad as I had imagined. And the results were good.

I wasn’t the first one in my family to have a divine appointment with an older African-American lady. Several years ago when my niece was in college, she was under a lot of stress as she was studying for exams. She rushed into a Walmart to purchase some items and on her way out was stopped by a woman she had never met. The woman said directly to my niece, “the Lord told me to tell you to be strong and have good courage.” The message was clear, precise, and individually delivered to my niece.

Little did she know at the time, but just a few days later her paternal grandmother, who she was very close to, would join the angels in heaven.

I believe these divine appointments – from the sidewalk in front of the YMCA, to the waiting room in the doctors office, to Walmart – were earthly touches of God‘s unending compassion. In my niece & myself’s hurried, over-obligated lives, God reached down into our ordinary moments to boldly remind us that He walks by our side through it all. 

I hope God will use me for divine appointments. I believe there are so many people around us who are hurting, struggling, or may even feel like they’re slowly dying inside. So many desperately need a touch of compassion, love, and hope. Because of Jesus, there is hope for every situation. The challenge for me is to slow myself down, tune out the noise of what doesn’t matter, and in tune to the needs around me.

“Dear Lord, please empty me of my personal selfishness so that I may be open to how You want to use me. Please give me the courage and the wisdom to put your divine promptings into bold action for Your glory.” Amen.