She wasn’t a close friend, but although I was younger, we moved in the same groups at church. But hers wasn’t the face I expected to see when I answered the door that morning. Actually it was hard to see any face behind the beautiful flower arrangement she held in front of her.
Stammering out my thanks, I invited her in. She followed me to the kitchen, explaining that I had been on her mind since she heard my son had left for boot camp. The aroma of fresh cut flowers flooded the room and my spirits lifted.
I fixed a pot of coffee as she chattered away, dispelling any awkwardness I felt. I’d had a hard night, and I knew it was obvious in my lack of makeup and ratty jeans. But she didn’t seem to notice. Instead she began to tell me how she felt when her son had joined the military.
The tightness in my heart began to ease. This woman had been where I was now and come out on the other side. At the end of her story, she reached across the table and took my hand, “God is going to do some amazing things through this situation too. You need to hold onto that when the challenges come.”
I tried to smile and instead burst into tears. I hadn’t realized it, but I was waiting for that exact assurance. But God knew, and He’d sent someone to tell me.
She came around the table and gave me a hug. “I’m always here. You can call me or just show up on my doorstep. I remember what it was like.”
Deanna was a friend for a season—an important season. She and her husband have retired and now live closer to their grandkids. But I’ll never forget her kindness and God’s faithfulness. And I’ll always remember the day that encouragement had a face and hope arrived with a bouquet of flowers.
Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. (Hebrews 13:16, HCSB)
