When God Nudges…

 

A few weeks ago, while checking emails on the computer, the thought came to me that I should check the email account used for the “Good News!” Column in the Porterville Recorder when someone wants to contact me personally.

 Much to my surprise there were several unread emails from people, some written several months ago. If you were one of those people, please forgive my negligence!

Among them was an email from a friend, John Kirk, whom we met in Springville in the late 1990’s. We lost touch with each other after he and his wife, Joanne, moved away. They lived in several different states before finally settling down in Texas.

A former neighbor of theirs in Springville happened to read an article I had written for the newspaper at the end of June. That neighbor, who had been in contact with the Kirks, cut out the story and sent it to them in Texas!

In the email, John said that he and Joanne would be visiting family in Mason, Michigan in just a few days and wondered if we could get together. My heart sank when I read that…a month had already gone past. Surely, we had missed them.

I wrote back, apologizing for being so late in answering. Maybe we could get together another time? To that, John responded that they had indeed driven to Mason at the beginning of July, but upon arriving, didn’t feel well.  

Rather than exposing the family to their illness, the Kirks turned around and went back home to Texas. They had recovered and were back in Michigan when I contacted him! Now that was a wonderful surprise!

They wanted to see where we lived and take us out to lunch. When I suggested meeting halfway between Mason and Detroit, John said,

“We live in Texas. We’re used to driving!”

So, one Friday morning, John and Joanne made the hour and a half drive east from Mason. We sat out on the patio and visited before going out to lunch. It seemed so natural being together again, with shared memories from attending the same church and living in Springville.

The following Friday, we drove out to the countryside to visit them. When their son’s  address didn’t show up on the GPS, we wondered what to do.

We tried calling John’s cell only to reach voice mail. I was sure that we had copied the address correctly. Why wasn’t it coming up on the GPS? Thankfully, the cell phone rang just as we were approaching an exit for Mason. It was a relief to hear John’s voice over the phone.

When I told him what exit we were going to take, he said, “Don’t take that one” and gave us the directions to get to the house. It was a beautiful home with a pond, barn, garden, but with unreliable access to the internet. That explained why we couldn’t find it on the GPS!

Lunch was at the Depot Diner, a refurbished railroad depot alongside the tracks in Mason. Our friendly waitress wore a bright yellow t-shirt with the catchy phrase: “If you can’t see the light, be the light!” And she was! As were the Kirks! 

Afterwards, Al showed us the dairy farm where his grandparents had lived when he was growing up. The farm had first belonged to Al’s great-grandfather and was well over a hundred years old. It was sold long ago, but had been well maintained by the current owners.

The large farmhouse and two red barns looked like they had been freshly painted and were still much the same as Al had remembered. We were amazed that it was only a few miles away from where the Kirk’s son and family now live.

The day turned out great, with a lot of reminiscing, sharing stories and strengthening of friendships. We had coffee and sampled some of Joanne’s good baking—ginger snap cookies and cinnamon rolls—before heading back to the suburbs of Detroit.

To think that our reunion with the Kirks came out of following God’s nudging to check my seldom used email account! Good things happen when we are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. God promises to guide and direct our steps as we acknowledge Him…and He is true to His word!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

(Photos are of the dairy farm where Al's Grandparents lived, near Mason, MI, and also of our friends, the Kirks, at their son's home a few miles away!)