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A Day in New Haven
August 19, 2008
My car is old - going
on 11 years. It's been reliable and cheap to maintain.
It's still cool - a Mustang is always cool. I gave up car
washes when I retired so it's usually dirty. But having to
wash the car myself to save money is a small sacrifice for this life
of retired freedom.
That all said, because of the age of my little car, I'm
hesitant to drive long distances, just as I'm hesitant to open my
front door when Poncho is nearer than 5 feet away; you never know
what's going to happen in either situation. Dana, my sister's
best friend in high school, called to ask me to speak with two
women's groups at her church, the New Haven United Methodist Church.
New Haven is east of Fort Wayne, a two-hour drive from Kokomo.
I never turn down a chance to give my Bright Star presentation, so I
accepted the invitation.
As soon as I hung up the phone, I panicked at the
thought of driving all the way to Fort Wayne.
Dana called me several times to make arrangements for
the day, get instructions for setting up needed media equipment, and
give me directions to the church. She couldn't have been more
helpful, but still I dreaded the long drive alone.
I re-activated my long-dormant cell phone.
Pastor Bohlmann's message in church the previous Sunday
reminded the congregation that God is with us always, that nothing
can tear us from His hands. That's right, I thought. I
wouldn't be going to New Haven alone - God would be with me.
So no matter what happened, God would be there for me. I felt
a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
As I hugged Pastor after the church service, I told him
how important his message was to me, that I had been dreading
something I had to face on Tuesday. But being reminded of
God's presence and love for me had eased my anxiety. Myrna,
Pastor's wife, overhead my comments and out of concern she asked
what it was that I had been dreading. I told her of my lack of
faith in my car but how much better I felt after hearing her
husband's sermon.
The following day Myrna called and offered to drive me
to New Haven in her new little red Honda, expressing her desire to
provide the gas for the trip as a donation to Bright Star. She
and her husband sponsor two of the boarders and are faithful
supporters of the school in different ways. And besides, she
tried to convince me, she wanted to buy a book at the Lutheran
Bookstore in Fort Wayne, a giant print book for a woman in Tipton.
I couldn't imagine that she would be willing to spend an entire day
at a church where she knew no one, sit through my presentation
twice, spend a great deal of money for gas and food, and get nothing
accomplished at home. I tried to change her mind but she was
sincere in her desire to take me to New Haven.
On Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. Myrna handed me her MapQuest
directions, I pulled out mine, and we hit the road to New Haven.
I did a horrendous job of navigating but I won't bore you with all
the details. We arrived at the church at exactly 8:30 for the
breakfast meeting of the Women's Circle. I gave my
presentation and they gave me $180 and change in a freewill
offering. What a wonderful surprise. Plus, one of the
women gave me a telescope she had planned to donate to the church's
rummage sale. The kids at Bright Star will enjoy using it.
Dana insisted we have lunch at her house and I'm glad
we accepted the invitation. The homemade meatloaf, coleslaw,
and baked potato were delicious.
With full tummies and ready for naps, Myrna and I set
out to shop at every Goodwill Store and Salvation Army Store in the
Fort Wayne area to buy uniform clothing for the boarders. We
had eleven stores to hit.
Remember the comment I made about my navigational
skills? Well, let it be sufficient to know that Myrna made
many quick turns, turnarounds, and trips around the block. We
asked directions more than once. At one point we were trying
to turn around in a parking lot, thinking we had made a wrong turn
when we suddenly realized that we were sitting in the parking lot of
the store we were looking for. By the end of our shopping
escapade, I had accumulated 19 blue shirts and blouses, 10 pairs of
gray slacks, 5 gray skirts, 9 gray sweaters, and one pair of brown
shorts for the kids at Bright Star.
After a quick bite at Mancini's, we headed back to the
church for the evening presentation.
Once again, the women were warm and welcoming,
inquisitive about the children at Bright Star, and generous with
their freewill offering, giving $118. In addition, one of the
women gave me a box of beads for the kids at the school. Then
another woman gave me a school bag and instructions for starting a
project for collecting school supplies for those in need. I
loved her ideas and plan to start such a project at my own church.
Dana also handed me a check for mileage. I've
never been given money for mileage - ever. Even though Myrna
drove and provided gas for the trip, she refused to take the check.
Instead, she insisted that the money be spent on the children.
. The generosity of Myrna, Dana, and the people at New Haven U.M.C. was
overwhelming and sincerely appreciated. The day was quite
unlike what I had anticipated. Tomorrow took care of itself.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
He's so good to me.
(Can you
hear me singing?)
Jan
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