Agreements and treasures

Wow!  I never cease to be amazed.  I just read something that seriously tugged at my heart strings; and I knew that, sure enough, I’d have to write about it because it’s at the core of my relationship with God.  You see, for the past three weeks, I’d been so busy sewing hand puppets for the grandkids and doing other “stuff” that I hadn’t blogged.  It’d been on my mind daily, but I just hadn’t been inspired.  Until this afternoon. 

On Saturday, my prayer buddy Mary B gifted me with a delightful little treasure.  “When I saw it, I thought of you,” she said.  She discovered the rustic-looking ceramic teapot recently while cleaning out her utility room.  “I’ve had it since 1980, and now I want you to have it,” she said. 

How could she have known that I have eight in my collection?  I thought.  She’s never been to our house. 

“Look at the inscription,” she twinkled.  “If two shall agree, it shall be done.”  It was the glue that cemented our friendship when she telephoned for the first time back in March. 

Let me backtrack…  William, our number one son, called late that morning in March.  He was very worried about his doctor’s appointment that afternoon.  He’d consulted with the optometrist a couple of times that week, but the prescribed medication had worsened his reddened eye even more.  The doctor had been so concerned that he’d scheduled an appointment for him with the ophthalmologist.  With only twenty dollars in his pocket, William worried about the doctor’s bill.  He hadn’t been able to reach any of his friends to see if they could help, although he had left a message for Guy, the band leader with whom he works.  “I’ve already considered my options,” he told me.  “I’ll take the bus there, but what will I say when I can’t pay for the exam?  I can’t put it off,” he continued.  ”The doctor says I could lose my eye.” 

I told William not to worry.  “Everything will be all right.  I’ve been praying for you to the Holy Infant of Prague and his angels and saints since we got on the phone.  Just say, ‘Praise God, I am healed,’ and you’ll be fine.” 

“I’ve got to go!” William said frantically as he noticed the time.  The doctor’s office was in North Austin across town from where he was.  He had no idea where he needed to switch buses.  He was so tired that he hoped to stay awake not to miss the connection.  I wished William well, and we hung up. 

Sitting there afterwards, I felt helpless; but I knew God was listening.  Everything’s going to be all right, I thought.  Just then, the phone rang.  Mary B was calling about getting together for a visit.  I burst with William’s story.  “Let’s agree,” Mary B said in earnest, ”that where two are joined in prayer, it shall be done” (Mt. 18:19-20).  She cheered me up and invited me to walk over to her house for our first visit.

Not long after that, my cell phone rang.  Steven was home from work.  He’d just gotten off the telephone with William.  The opthalmologist had replaced the optometrist’s medication with a free sample of over-the-counter drops, which sold at Wal-Mart for less than two dollars; and the band leader had shown up in perfect time to pay the bill and drive William home.  The band had a gig to play that evening, so William would be able to repay Guy’s money right away.  Steven said that William was so happy and so relieved that he couldn’t stop laughing!  Mary and I were thrilled.  We immediately gave thanks and praise for William’s miracles and then proceeded to laugh and agree that from then on, we would be prayer buddies.

Since then, whether we email or visit with each other on occasion, as we did yesterday, Matthew 20:18-20 always comes up.  The funny thing is that we never cease to be surprised.  Every single miracle catches us off-guard.  We get so excited that we’re blown away by God’s awesomeness.  We’re also very grateful for our very special friendship– another of God’s wonderful treasures (Is. 45:3).

Moreover, days like today, when I’ve been working here at home and going off on tangents galore, I’ll read something related to what Mary B and I discussed or emailed.  I have another epiphany regarding my favorite passages in the Bible, and off I go in search of more on this journey of faith. 

This afternoon, for instance, as I was temporarily distracted by the mundane task of deleting links from My Favorites, I clicked on an entry in my blog folder.  I started reading, and guess what?  I serendipitously discovered the answer to my two-day-old question: Which decades make up the Seven Dolors?  Someone had blogged about the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, or the Seven Dolors, on the Infant of Prague weblog. 

I never cease to be amazed at God’s impeccable timing, sense of humor, and immense presence in our lives.  We only need to be a little inquisitive to find the answers we’ve been seeking (Mt. 18:19-20).  God does listen.  And he does leave us treasures in secret places that we may know that it is he who calls our name (Is. 45:3).  This is exactly the point that Mary B and I discussed for almost two hours on the front porch in the hot sun yesterday.  Our experiences may be different… each of us struggling uniquely day to day… but our epiphanies always connect us to each other and to God’s teachings.  WOW!!!