One month ago, I looked out of my kitchen window and saw a small, thin woman opening the door of her car sitting in the driveway of our small blue gingerbread rental house across the street. Her blond hair pulled back in a low pony tail, she appeared to be a woman in her mid-thirties. Two children emerged from the car after her, a girl 10 years of age and her brother, 11. A nice family, I remember thinking.
In our 25 years of living in our home, we have seen numerous people come and go in that special little blue gingerbread house across the street. It is as if God used these tenants to bless my husband and me. For example, I remember Vivian, a single mom who sought refuge in that house after her husband tried to shoot her. The little house became the house of safety. Another memory involved a Laotian couple who lived there for a couple years and with whom we became good friends.. In fact, we just talked with Ching Kham a few days ago. He called to wish us a "Merry Christmas!"
In actuality, the structure of the little blue gingerbread house is not level, the plaster on some of the walls is peeling off. The kitchen is too small to fit in a kitchen table! But it is cozy!!! When my husband showed (we'll call her) Angel the house, she loved it. She saw all the creative potential it would offer her and her adorable children.
I have to share this part of the story with you. I first met the children when my husband sent them across the street to our house to use our facilities. I can't explain this other than to say I felt a spiritual bond with these two precious kids. They had such delightful spirits and radiant faces. I decided I could easily be an adoptive grandma to these two!
Angel brought no furniture. We offered her various options for furniture but in her sweet way diverted the conversation to another subject. She had a history of serious physical problems. All her close-knit family was thousands of miles away in another state. But the father of her children happened to live in our small town. It was best if children had both parents nearby, she explained to me. She also shared with me that she felt the pace of life in our part of the country was better suited for raising kids than in a crime-ridden, highly populated metropolis.
After about a month of living in the small blue gingerbread house, I noticed there were no lights on for five or six days. Her car was still in the driveway. I did not see the kids out in the yard. So I called her, inviting her to dinner that next week. To my surprise, she informed me she had been ambulanced away to a hospital about an hour away from us. She mentioned she would be released that next day. I offered to pick up her. She graciously accepted. The ride home with Angel was memorable, sweet, and a conversation I will never forget. The sweet spirit she exuded and the love she expressed for her children....it was precious.
5 days later, Angel died, at an alarming young age. Her life-giving organs gave out.
In a few days I will be attending Angel's memorial service. Why did God bring this special young woman into my life? I cannot answer that question. But I am pretty sure Angel knew what was about to happen. And she had a plan to take care of her beloved children. What love and sacrifice! And maybe, just maybe, God will enable me to be a surrogate grandma to those two darling children.
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