A Place Prepared…
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Homesickness struck only a few
minutes after my folks said good-bye and drove away from Sproul Hall, UCLA, my
place of residence for the next two years.
I had arrived a week early for orientation and the multi-storied dorm
was fairly empty. My small dorm room,
which would eventually be occupied by two of us college co-eds, felt strange
and unfamiliar. So different from home!
I occupied myself with unpacking
suitcases, hanging up clothes and putting things away in my half of the room.
Mom and Dad had purchased a set of ten paperback books on “Basic Christianity”
to help me grow spiritually while away at college. What to do with those in my
limited space?
The books were arranged on the
bulkhead over my narrow bed and provided a certain degree of comfort whenever I
looked at them. Then, I sat on the bed wondering “what now?” as the minutes on
the clock dragged by. Just down the hall, a friendly young lady named Lydia was
moving into her dorm room. I greeted her in the hallway and showed her my room.
When she saw the books on the bulkhead, she gave me a hug and exclaimed, “Oh
you’re a Christian too!”
Lydia was the first friend I made
at UCLA…and the second was a sweet girl across the hall named Jeanne. When we
three formed a Bible study on our floor, little did we know that seeds were
being planted for life-long friendships to root and grow over the years.
A group of ten women eventually
formed, rooming together in various combinations and locations for several
years after graduation. Six of us married, bringing our husbands into the “UCLA”
group after being screened by the rest of the members! All of them passed the
test!
Gradually, we spread out across the
country to Texas, Oregon, Virginia, Colorado, Ohio and Michigan!
One of the ladies, Paula, kept in
touch with everyone and often opened her home for us to be together whenever we
were in the Los Angeles area. When our beloved Lydia passed away, Al and I
joined Paula and two others of our group at the coast in a special remembrance
of her.
During the Covid pandemic, Paula
began organizing online meetings where we discovered the joy of seeing each
other again on a regular basis. When the idea of getting together for a “UCLA”
group reunion was shared recently during one of our meetings, we all agreed on
a date when we could get together in Palm Springs early in May.
Paula began investigating houses to
rent in that area. Her first attempt at securing a place was disappointing: it
had the right number of bedrooms and was large enough for 12 people…four
couples and four singles. However, the owners contacted her after the deposit
had been paid and arrangements made with a problem—two bathrooms were out of
order!
She decided to cancel the contract
and after praying over the phone with another friend from the group, found a
new house that was located about twenty minutes away from Palm Springs. As it
often turns out when the Lord is in charge, the new place was even larger than
the previous one and would easily accommodate all twelve of us.
On May 9th, Al and I
flew in to the LAX and rented a car to transport us to Palm Springs and
afterwards to Bakersfield, where we planned to stay with family for the rest of
our time in California. We picked up one of the women who lived in a city along
the route and reached the desert house late in the afternoon where we were
warmly greeted by several friends who had already arrived.
The house was the perfect place for us to stay
for the next four days, exploring the area, enjoying meals and sweet fellowship
together. What blessings—the house and the reunion!
When it is time for Jesus’
followers to go home to heaven, we can be assured that he has a place ready for
us. I’m looking forward to moving into my heavenly home! How about you?
“In my Father’s house are many
rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and
take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
John 14:2-3 NIV
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