The Reunion

The honor guest would soon arrive and all the acquaintances were starting to gather for the event at least a thousand. Each waited to extol accolades and thanks for what she had done. Some were old, and some were young, some were well known, some not, and some had never directly meet her but each life had been touch in some special way by her. Each had a story to tell.

You are responsible for me having a new heart and living to see my grandbabies. Your love allowed me to be healed and I got see my kids grow up and spend ten more years with my wife. You see when our doctor was a teenager his parents fell and you helped provide care and food for him and his younger sister that had been born on crack. Without your help and other like you, he would have never become a doctor.

A preacher waited to present all the lives that had been touched because she had first touched him. He had accused her of blaspheme because she spoke of God as a real and living person. But an angel had directed his path to a 12 step where she had introduce him to God instead of offering up more rituals.

A group of happy carefree teenagers, waited to sit and swap stories of all the good things God had done in their life since last they talked. The first a beautiful blond girl strong and athletic, now that she was free from the cancer, was waiting to hug the woman that had been her second mother to her. A tall strong young man stood where once a thin child had sat crying on her porch because he was hungry and begging for food. A group of African children that had never seen her but had learned of God through the mission books sat waiting. Because of her offerings, a group of Russian children that learned of God from the airwaves sat next to them. A couple of the kids from her Sunday school sat next to her ready to tell her the rest of the story.

A once blind Chinese man, his family, and friends waited off to one side. Along with the Braille text books she had sent after her husband had read them she had send a copy of the Bible on tape and a few dollars to supplement the two dollars a day the government expected him to buy food, clothing, and shelter with.

A few old women and men, and a couple of younger adults also stood ready to congratulate her on the hard work and bruises she had received falling down the stairs during a passion play. She had given the tickets, help act out Jesus life, and open up their eyes to more important things than money, and fame. Now they waited to share with her all the beauty, glory, and love she had not been able to convey.

A large crowd of old friends was visiting sharing all the prayers that she had sent up for them and their families over the years. Each had long rolls of paper with the dates she had been prayed for them and the dates they had been answered in their hands.

A group of seniors stood with bowls of fruit and songs in their hearts. They remembered when she had come to a nursing home and sang hymns of praise for them. They were grateful for the example of God love. They had needed to know, that they were not forgotten.

An old Jewish couple offer up wine and bread to her. Just as she had once sent through an outreach a care box that let them celebrate Hanukkah, in a distant land.

The list of those waiting continued, for she had touched more than she knew. The moment before she crossed back over to home, she had thought herself a failure, not making a difference. Now at the end of the line she saw the face of one waiting to tell her, “Well done.” She was surprised at the lives she had touched, but wondered just how many she had missed. She cried a tear for them. The Master touched her face and wiped it dry. “You are not my only servant.”

Kathy Barnes
8-05-2010