Kisses from Heaven

It had been a wonderful weekend of ministry and I was on my way home. As I drove north on " Alligator Alley “from Fort Lauderdale back to St. Petersburg, my mind raced with all the wonderful things that had occurred that weekend. I was excited over the personal encounters and new opportunities for ministry.

Alone in the car, I began to sing and pray at the same time. My heart was full and there were no cars close by so I sang praises to the Lord as if He was sitting in the passenger seat next to me. My heart was overflowing with love and gratitude. Then in a split second I was reminded how often I let the Lord down. I cried out and asked Him how He could continue to forgive me and love me when time and time again I let Him down. In quietness, on that long road I could almost hear his voice assuring me his love for me is deeper than any ocean, higher than any mountain, wider than the East is from the West and longer than forever.

But with such hunger for more assurance as if his death on the cross was not enough, I cried out once again, "Lord I know you love me. I know you don't have to show me a sign. I know I shouldn't even ask you for a sign, and Lord you don't have to show me a sign but it would be so awesome if you could once in a while send me a special message that would be like a Kiss from Heaven. Something that would remind me when life gets hard or I get too distracted that you are still there and you want me to know that you love me so much that you are sending me a Kiss from Heaven." In my boldness, I even suggested, " You know, like if you show me a daffodil, I would be reminded that you are sending me a Kiss from Heaven". The minute I suggested the daffodil I tried to take it back, I thought no wait that is a seasonal flower. I need something else that is not seasonal, something that comes more often.  But in my battle with myself I thought no, this is perfect because when I see a daffodil whether it is a fresh flower, on a t-shirt, in a painting or in any other form I know it is a Kiss from Heaven."

In all my immaturity the Lord gave me peace over my choice of a daffodil.  Just as I arrived the rain began to come down. My time with the Lord had been such a blessing and I was not about to let the rain stop me. I had promised the Lord I would come home in time to go to the prayer vigil for Terri Schiavo.  I parked my car and grabbed my umbrella and I made my way to stand united in prayer for this young woman who was caught in a tug of war between life and death.

As I left the prayer vigil, I knew I would not have time to go home before going to the church for the Growth in Faith annual retreat.  As a volunteer leader for the retreat, I could not be late so I pulled one of my nice outfits out of my suitcase in the trunk of my car. My hair was obeying the call of the rain and I tried my best to put myself together in the Burger King bathroom before heading to the church. My hair and dress were not as put together as I would have liked but it was ok because my heart was full from the blessings of the day.  I entered the sanctuary and could not believe my eyes. The entire front of the church stage was filled with daffodils!  My heart could not contain it and my cheeks were suddenly overtaken with liquid joy flowing down.  My amazing Lord was sending me Kisses from Heaven.

For almost ten years I have been blessed with a surprise daffodil at just the right moment.

Today, as I sat in church, I witnessed a Kiss from Heaven but it was not a daffodil. It was not my Kiss from Heaven. It was an assurance from the Lord to me that he is sending Kisses from Heaven to my friend and prayer partner Jackie.  Just like Terri Schiavo, Jackie is under the care of Hospice. She too has been in a tug of war for her life.  She has proudly worn the color Teal in hopes of educating others of the importance of getting routine medical exams to detect ovarian cancer early.  Jackie’s faith has never waivered; in her last days she is at peace that she will soon join the Heavenly choir.  As she sleeps and waits for the Lord to take her home, her Kisses from Heaven came today hundreds of miles away from where she is. Make no mistake they were her Kisses from Heaven but the Lord sent them to me to remind me that His love for her is deeper than any ocean, higher than any mountain, wider than the East is from the West and longer than forever.

As I sat in church, I once again had liquid joy flowing down my cheeks as I heard the choir dressed in Teal sing, “ My faith has found a resting place”.  Did they plan this for Jackie?  No, they had no idea. This was all the Lord.

The Unexpected Prayer Partner

I had worked with Sue and she had been intrigued by my faith in God. She had often come into my office to spur me to talk about God. Sue also shared with me that she wished that she had the same faith. She shared with me how her Dad had survived being a Jewish prisoner in a concentration camp. She expressed her desire to have faith in God like I did. She had been amazed when God had answered my prayers and my Dad’s cancer had gone into remission against all odds. She was excited to see God work yet still afraid to trust Him totally. On more than one occasion, she had mentioned her friend Nancy. She said I should meet Nancy sometime.

After transferring to a new position, I didn’t see Sue. But the Lord brought her to mind often and it brought me comfort to know that Sue still had her friend Nancy to show her the way to Jesus.

One day, I received a telephone call from Sue. This was surprising because we had never socialized outside of work. Sue and I had had many conversations about my faith but she had never accepted him as her Lord and Savior.

Being a good friend, Sue reached out to find help for a friend in need. As I listened Sue explained that Nancy’s dad had been diagnosed with cancer. She said, “I just know if you call and pray with her, her dad will get better just like your dad.” Sue recognized her limitation of reaching God’s throne room and so she turned to me. She asked, “Ginger, will you call Nancy?” She had written my name on a post-it and had told her friend Nancy to expect a call from me.

When I called Nancy, I learned that she was a strong believer in Jesus and we bonded immediately.
God touched my heart the first time I spoke to Nancy. He filled my heart with love and compassion far beyond my own ability to love. As I prayed with this new friend, my sister in the Lord, we trusted God to do what was right. We were expecting a miracle.

Over the next three months we cried, laughed, poured our hearts out to each other and to God. We praised Him for bringing us together. Nancy and I spoke often and prayed with each other over the telephone. She became one of the closest prayer partners that I have ever had.

One day Nancy called and said, “What’s going on? Why haven’t you called?” I had dreaded talking to her. I didn’t want to discourage her. My dad’s cancer had returned. Once again we cried and prayed asking the Lord to heal both of our dads.
However, it soon became evident that it wasn’t God’s plan to heal Nancy’s dad, at least not on this side of eternity. My heart grieved for her and I held her up before the Lord constantly. I thanked God for the privilege of being God’s human touch to Nancy during this difficult time.

During the last few days of her father’s life, Nancy although a strong believer was not able to pray on her own. I read the word of God to her and prayed with her. I could not offer any words of encouragement of my own but I did have the Living Word of God to read to her.

When the Lord decided to take Nancy’s dad home, I knew that I would go to her dad’s memorial service. As I spoke to Nancy, it dawned on me that I did not know what she looked like. The Lord had brought us together yet we had never met in person. Nancy said, “Ginger, you’ll know me when you see me. I am tall and I have blond hair.” As I walked into the funeral home and looked around, I spotted a short petite brunette. I walked up to her and said, “You are Nancy.” She smiled and said, “Ginger.” We embraced. It was only two months later when the Lord used Nancy to minister to me when He took my Dad home also. Sometimes when the hurt is so deep that we cannot pray and our eyes hurt from crying so much that we cannot read the Word of God, it is then that we allow the Lord to minister to us through another believer.

Only three short months earlier even though I felt I’d known Nancy all of my life, we had spoken for the first time As I hung up the telephone, Nancy’s words played back over in my mind. “Ginger, you started out being just a name on a post-it and now you are in my book permanently.” I understood so well what she meant and I loved it!

In God’s mystery and providence, He has chosen Sue to bring Nancy and I together. Nancy and I continue to pray for our friend Sue and we trust her to the Lord to complete the story.