A few weeks ago, I had a message from a person with with whom I had a family connection many years ago when I was a teen-ager. Judy now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, and someone sent her a copy of my book, "Water Carried Uphill", a collection of stories of people born before 1940. She wanted me to know how much one of the stories in the book had meant to her. "Virginia Ahrens",
she said.
Virginia is now 90 years old, lives in a nursing home, but attends church every Sunday wearing one of her favorite hats. What most people do not know is that she spent half of her adult life as a minister's wife in a big church in Chicago. That marriage came to an end, she was divorced and had to re-invent herself into another life. When interviewed for the book, she did not want to dwell on the painful experiences of the past. She said, "Life can be a rocky road. Bad things happen. If you don't turn it loose, you can't lead a healthy normal life."
Judy said that at the time she read this, her son was going through a messy divorce and she was heartbroken. Virginia's words suddenly gave her a perspective. Sometime later, one of her friends was experiencing hard times and she was becoming bitter. "Listen to this," she told her friend,
and she told her Virginia's story.
I told Judy that I shared her message with Virginia and how pleased she was. The Holy Spirit works through us to strengthen the lives of others.
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