An Unexpected Gift (02/16/2026)

This past weekend was terribly hard for me and for those I love. We were saying our goodbyes to my younger brother, Randy. The wake on Friday was full of so many people I didn’t recognize because I haven’t lived in Sioux City for over 50 years. Saturday’s funeral was similar, a blur in many ways, so many people, so much sorrow. But then in the very midst of it all, I was blessed with a most unexpected gift.

As I was leaving the church after the funeral, I encountered a woman I recognized; she was the oldest sister of my very best friend in high school in Sioux City. As I was speaking to her, two other women came up and re-introduced themselves to me, two additional sisters of my friend. Finally, one of them suggested calling my friend to come to the brunch after the funeral. I hugged them and thanked them for coming to my brother’s funeral and went on to the brunch with the family.

About 20 minutes later, a woman walked through the doors and right up to me. I looked at her. She looked at me. We both broke into laughs and hugged like the world’s future depended on it. It was wonderful. And we sat and chatted and caught up somewhat and exchanged contact information. It was a blessing I never expected but one I will never forget.

Marilyn and I were inseparable during our junior and senior years. I lived a block and a half up Grandview Boulevard from her. We walked together to and from school. We hung out with one another in the evenings and on weekends. We studied together. We shared mutual friends. She was in my wedding. And then we lost track of one another partly because my husband and I moved so many times in the first 20 years of our marriage and partly because she joined a religious order in Dubuque, Iowa.

As we sat and talked, it was as if we’d never been apart. She had the same eyes, the same smile. It was as easy to talk to her in 2026 as it was in 1968. And as we parted ways again, I swore we’d stay in touch this time. And I mean it with all my heart. Our lives are all about relationships. And I couldn’t help but notice that on the day I had to say goodbye to my brother, I was given the blessing of picking up again a cherished relationship with a cherished friend.

I’ve thought about that encounter and how others really brought us together. I thought of how the LORD provides for us in unexpected ways, in ways we didn’t even think to ask, but in ways that will make a difference. I’ve thought about the importance of relationships and how those we love are part of our lifelong formation, supporting us, loving us, teaching us, leading us, forgiving us, and challenging us.

It’s inevitable, I guess, that when one suffers a loss like I have recently that we pause to reconsider what matters, where we want to spend our time, who we are because of who we know. And the last, who we are because of who we know, brings me full circle to why I started the blog in 2022. Those with whom we share our journey matter and none more than Christ who walks with us every step of the way. So many times over the past two weeks, I have felt Him there, I have recognized Him in the words of another, I have felt his compassion in the outreach of another. And as I journey on, looking back, I pray to the LORD that He will allow me to bring Him to others and others to Him and that I will love Him and them well and long.

Our relationships are all that really matter in the end. It’s not just that we can’t take the material with us, it’s that it was never about the material. From the very beginning, it has always been about the relationships. And when we are blessed by our relationship with another or the LORD, let us pause to give thanks, take it in, and promise to take that goodness forward as we encounter others along the way.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.