These last few years my mom has lost a lot of loved ones and friends. This year she lost her best friend who was a godly lady and they confided in each other. Mom was sharing with me that it is hard to make new friends at her age. I understood what she meant but I decided to ask God to bring my Mom a new friend.
That Sunday my husband, Mike, and I went to the cafeteria after church. We rarely do this unless we are alone and in a hurry. When we sat down I noticed a pretty lady who was sitting alone. I asked Mike if he remembered when our girls were little and they would ask older people to sit with us if they were alone. Several times they were invited to sit with the person.
The lady reminded me of my mom and I wondered what her story was. It bothered me to see her eating alone. I kept this lady on my mind all week.
The next Sunday we went to the cafeteria again which we never do. I was in line when I noticed a pretty ring on the hand in front of me. As I commented on it I realized it was the same lady. I asked her if she was there the week before sitting alone. I invited her to sit with us but she graciously declined. As we were leaving I spoke to "Merle" and asked her where she goes to church. As soon as she told me I knew we had a mutual friend. I told her I would be speaking to that person later in the day and she asked me to tell them hello.
I made my call and I heard how much my friend loved Merle. When I hung up I mentioned I had to call a gentleman that my friend knew. She said ask him about Merle. They worked together for years and are good friends. When I called my other friend he told me how much Merle meant to him. He said please tell her hello.
Without thinking about it I wrote Merle a note admitting that it was weird to meet someone in the cafeteria and then get a note from them. I told her I had told her friend hello and then talked to a second person who said to tell her hello. I told her I hope she knows how loved she is because I had talked to two people the same day I met her and both love her! I put the note in the mail. Later that day I thought that was creepy and I should take it out. Then I decided maybe it was of God. But i did not want to look like a creeper! Finally I asked God to let her receive it in the Spirit it was written. At that point I let it go.
A few days later I got a call from Merle and she was crying telling me how much the note meant to her. She said our meeting had to be a "God thing." She wanted to apologize for not sitting with us but she felt like she eats too slow. After a lot of tears and laughter I told her I wanted to get together with her and Mom. She and I were excited!
This week we had lunch at noon and sat at my table until 5pm! Merle said, "I guess I better go since I didn't bring any pajamas!" There was never a quiet moment! We all hugged bye and made plans to get together again.
The next day I called Merle to thank her for a wonderful day. She told me that had been the most special day she had had in years. She said she just loved my mom and I and I told her we felt the same about her. I called Mom and she told me she had felt our luncheon had been so special. She said she kept giving praises to God for letting her still make new friends. She said she has so much in common with Merle she knew they would be good friends. She said she kept trying to think of who Merle reminded her of and it came to her in bed that night. It was her best friend she had lost this year and misses so much! She said she knew this was a "God thing." God is so good! He brought us both a friend! He gives us just what we need and so much more!