I believe God places people in your path and gives you an opportunity to share. Your time. Your talents. Information. Faith. Or, maybe just a gentle conversation. Such was the case yesterday.

There’s always a little back story to my stories, so here goes. Last week when Mr. FixIt and I went to the farm to mow, there was a message on the answering machine left by a gentleman who was looking for my aunt. He hadn’t spoken to her in at least ten years, so he didn’t even know if she was still living. His name was Bill, but he didn’t leave a number and we don’t have caller ID on the line out there. After I listened to the recording, I said, “God, nudge this fella and have him call me again, but this time with his number, ok?”

I didn’t think about it again all week. This Monday, we went back out to mow and there were a couple of messages. I smiled, remembering my quick prayer for a return call. Could it be Bill?

The first call was AARP. They leave a message about once a week to tune in to listen to some talk about something or other. I just delete them. 

The second call was Bill! I was so glad he called back and left his number. Thank you, God.

I called him back and got his voicemail. I left my name and number, told him why I was calling, and could he call me back?

Last night, I was sitting down to write my daily post and whispered, “God…what should I write about today?” My phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize so I let it go to voicemail while I got set up to write. A little while later, I received the notification I had a voicemail. I listened and…it was Bill!

I called him right back and we had the most delightful conversation. He was saddened to learn about my aunt’s passing. He had known her since college and actually had been college roommates (and best friends in high school) with her first husband. Now, this was a treat for me, because I don’t know a whole lot about my uncle. He was only forty-one when he passed away. He had rheumatic fever as a child and subsequently developed rheumatic heart disease…damage to the valves of the heart. This is a result of an untreated strep infection. He passed during the night after suffering a fall on their farm…just shy of his scheduled open heart surgery.

Bill remembered my uncle as a dandy basketball player…the best shot on the team at 6’1”. The guy who should have been on the first string, wasn’t. He played second team. Bill never understood why till he learned years later that my uncle had taken an early disability retirement from his government job in Washington, DC because of a heart condition.

I shared with Bill some of my memories of my uncle. I own three of his grandmother’s crocks and a small child’s rocking chair. He was a tease. He told me he worked for the CIA. Then he changed it to a perfume factory. I never did get a straight answer of what he did for a living and Bill didn’t know either.

He recalled a time when he was traveling through West Virginia and decided to stop and see my aunt. He knew she was living out at the farm and taking care of her mom and a brother. It was cool to talk to someone who met my grandma…who had sat in the little red farmhouse…who knew my aunt and uncle when they were kids. There were no big revelations in our conversation, except…he and I both lived in England and in Denver…both with the Air Force. 

And…we knew a strong woman we both admired. 

I’m glad I answered the call and could be the one to tell him his old friend was gone.

Yes, God gives us appointments.

❤️

“Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Put this in writing. From now on, the Lord will bless everyone who has faith in him when they die.” The Spirit answered, “Yes, they will rest from their hard work, and they will be rewarded for what they have done.””

Revelation 14:13 CEV