It seems like the Holy Spirit has been opening more doors than usual lately to have meaningful conversations with folks we don’t know. I shared the first opportunity on my Facebook page but want to share it again here for those who aren’t on Facebook.

As some of you know, last Saturday we went to Phipps, a conservatory in Pittsburgh. In one of the lush, all green areas, I noticed a young man sitting quietly on a bench in a corner. I smiled at him and said, “Taking a break?”

He nodded, “This is my go to place every–” (I thought he said “every day” but learned later he said every week). He added, “And with my glasses off, it looks even more mystical.”

 I’m nearsighted too, so I said, “I can understand that. Enjoy your time here.” And we walked on. He called after us, “Enjoy your weekend.”

Later, after we’d taken in the amazing Bonsai and Orchid show, we started down the steps to the exit. I noticed the young man again and asked him, “Is your break over?”

He smiled. “Yes it is.”

“And you said you come here every day?”

 “Oh, no, every week. I’m a student and I don’t have time to come every day.”

We had a lovely conversation as I asked him where he was a student and what he was studying, etc, He’s a Freshman at Carnegie Mellon near Phipps. Donn told me later that CMU is VERY selective in whom they choose to be admitted. One has to have almost perfect ACT or SAT scores—so he must be VERY intelligent.

As we neared the end of our conversation, I was so drawn to this young man that I wished I knew his name so I could pray for him. At that very moment, he said, “What are your names, I’m Shawn.”

 We told Shawn our names and I said, “I was just wishing I knew your name so I could pray for you.”

 His eyes shone as he said, “I will never forget that!”

That night during our devotional time, Donn said, “I think that meant something to Shawn when you said you’d pray for him.”  And Donn proceeded to pray for Shawn.

I love it when God so intervenes to let us know He’s involved in every part of our lives. I can’t help but feel that God has given me another “son” to pray for, and I’ve added Shawn to my prayer list. I have a very select group of people, in addition to Donn and our family, that I pray for every day. Others I pray for on a rotation basis. Every time I thought about where to put Shawn on my list, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to put him on the everyday list. Perhaps only heaven will show why our paths crossed.

On Monday afternoon, Donn and I went to Aldi’s. We had stopped near the entryway to look at grapes when I realized a woman standing by the roses was talking to me. As I turned around, she pointed to the pink roses and said, “Aren’t these pink roses beautiful?”

“They are beautiful,” I answered. “Are pink roses your favorite?”

“Yes, they are. They were my daughter’s favorite too.” I nodded and smiled, ready to get back to buying grapes when I realized the woman was still talking.

“What was that?” I asked.

“My daughter passed away.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I responded, touching her arm. “We understand what that’s like. Our son passed away in 2021.”

“My son passed away too.” She named a date which I don’t remember.

“Oh my, I’m so very sorry. That must have been so hard to lose two children.”

She agreed, telling us how her son died and that her daughter, who had never had a seizure before, had a seizure and died. “I am the only one of my family left, except my 16-year-old grandson whom I’m raising.”

My heart ached for her. “It’s so hard when so many difficult things happen to use. Our son died in July of 2021 and then in January of 2023, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I don’t know how we’d have gotten through that if not for Jesus.”

She nodded and said, “I know. I talk to Him all the time. He probably gets sick of me talking to Him.”

“I can assure you Jesus does not get sick of you talking to Him. He loves you so much.”

She smiled and I touched her arm again and said, “It was nice talking to you.”

Then we went back to the grapes and she went on her way. I don’t know where she is spiritually, but at least she talks to Jesus, and because of the things we’re going through, I could identify with her pain.

We went home and I made a kettle of soup for supper. We had just cleaned up the kitchen, and I was ready to walk on the treadmill when the doorbell rang. Smiling, I said, “That’ll be Beth,*” As I started toward the front door, Donn went over to work on the puzzle to give me some time with the adolescent who lives a few streets away.

I welcomed Beth and followed her into the family room. I do a lot of listening and ask a question now and then during our conversations. It’s like turning on a water faucet. She seemingly has no filters when talking to me although now and then, she says things she had kept to herself up to now. I don’t know if everything she tells me is true, but I listen.

For Christmas, I bought her and I each a devotional book written by a friend of mine and her daughter who is near Beth’s age which is for mothers and daughters. I told her maybe she and her mom could work on it or I’d be happy to do it with her. She didn’t seem too interested, so for now I just continue to listen and pray. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would be preparing her heart to join me for Bible study.

I’m so thankful for the conversations with people at Phipps, Aldi’s, Hillman Cancer Center and our living room in this season where a lot of my time is consumed with Cancer treatments, tests I need because of the treatments, and doctor appointments. God opens doors of opportunity that no one can shut!

Thank you, Father, that you can use us in your Kingdom regardless of the season of life we’re in. Help us to be sensitive to your Holy Spirit so that we don’t miss the opportunities you give us! Amen.

Health Update

On Tuesday I had an appointment with one of my oncologist’s Pas. I’ve been having a lot of issues that I contribute to the last medicine I was put on for five years and decided it was time to talk about them: fingernails splitting down into the quick and then catching on things, blood pressure that has crept up at least ten points, severe pain that comes and goes in my hip joints which sometimes makes it difficult to walk, pains that come and go in my leg muscles, etc.

As I was listing things mentally the other day in preparation for my appointment, I felt the Holy Spirit remind me, “But you’re sleeping well and the hot flashes aren’t waking you up at night.”

“That’s true,” I agreed. Those two things had been the things I was most concerned about because I don’t handle losing a lot of sleep very well.

I did talk to the PA about all these issues and she reminded me that they can switch me to another drug. They all have the same side effects listed but some people do better on one than another. I asked her to give me three more weeks (until my next appointment) to make up my mind. “If I whine enough, Donn may call you himself and ask you to switch me to another medicine!” We all had a good laugh.

Ultimately, my lab work was perfect, my treatment went well, and we had a very congenial group of folks in Annie’s POD where once again, we had a meaningful conversation with the wife of one of the patients. She asked us if we watched the Superbowl. When we said we didn’t, she wanted to know what we watch on television. Donn told her the Pirates and Hallmark movies. Then I told her about one of our favorite TV preachers, and she asked if we were Christians, which opened the door to ask her the same question. She said she was raised Catholic but doesn’t like things that are happening now, which led to a good discussion about what is really important. Thank you so much for all your prayers. Please pray for me for wisdom about the medicine issue. I don’t want to switch to another drug and then find my sleep messed up!