HOPE

Tomorrow I leave for SW Kansas to officiate the memorial celebration of my dear friend Ruth. While this is a sad time, because I will miss her a lot, it is also a grand time because she loved God so much while on this earth, I can only imagine what it must be like for her now that she is in heaven. One thing about services like this, it brings folks together to renew old relationships and friendships. Gives everyone an opportunity to tell heir favorite 'Ruth' story, share a hug or two, and mostly laugh together; which is always good for the soul.
I want to tell you one of my 'Ruth' stories. She was one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. At the ripe old age of 82, Ruth decided it was time to deal with some emotional baggage she had carried for way too long. By her own words, she was a very sensitive person who struggled most of life with feeling like a failure or inferior, who seriously doubted God's love for her, and feared his punishment, who lived her life as a pretender, never truly happy or joyful inside. Then one day, in a moment of divine revelation, she wrote down every hurt and doubt and moment of failure and guilt and regret. Everyone she could think of, she wrote onto slips of paper and placed in large steel bowl. She took that 'bowl of sorrow' to the altar in her church and laid it before God, asking that He forgive her for hanging on to them for so long and for her doubts of His love for her. Remember, this is at age 82. Then she lit those slips of paper on fire and released all those sorrows to Him. As they burned up, she wept and smiled and said over and over again, "Oh my! Oh, my!". And when the flames died down, she looked at me and said, "Today, I'm free!" Then looking down at the ashes in the bowl she said, "Let's take these outside and cast them to the wind." And that's exactly what we did. And as she watched them disappear into the Kansas sky, she simply stood there with her hands clasped at her chest and smiled.
I'll never forget that day. I watched God take a troubled soul and set it free from the lies that had held in bondage for so long. I thanked Him for the courage I had just witnessed, for His great love for us, and for the gift of hope He had given to us both. A hope I carry in my heart to this day.
PJ