God Puts People in Our Lives

We circled the Lord’s Supper table that Maundy Thursday years ago, thoughtful of the sacrifice He made for the atonement of all of our wicked wayward ways. In the dimly lit sanctuary, we held hands as we prepared to take the bread broken for us.

I’d never held her hand before. She sat a few rows behind us each Sunday on the opposite end. I’d seen her many times but had never spoken to her. When it comes to seating arrangements, Baptists don’t branch out much. I reached out to grab her hand and instantly knew she was someone I must know. It felt as though I was transported back in time to hold my grandmother’s hand. The same hand I held as she breathed her last and spoke, “I see angels.”

Fiercely independent, we later laughed about meeting that night. After the service, she made a beeline to her car. My daughter and I had to borderline run to catch up to her to introduce ourselves.

Geneva enriched my life in countless ways. Her wit, grit, and refusal to quit will forever inspire me. Each time I spoke to her, including the night before she departed this earthly dwelling to meet her Savior, she gave me a reminder, “Don’t lose your joy.” Regardless of the challenge staring back at her, she fervently trusted that the Lord was in full control. She was at peace come what may.

We laughed until I had tears in my eyes as she shared some of her ‘don’t lose your joy’ moments spanning over the decades. Working as a car hop, accidentally pushing the ladder the wrong way on the line at the factory and being fired on the spot, making incredible candy, baking impeccable cakes, driving her big, red truck from Eldorado to San Angelo to play bridge. All of her friends could hop in the cab, and their walkers slid right in the bed of the truck. I never got to play a game of cards with her, but I’m guessing she was a force to be reckoned with.

Joy is cultivated. It’s not situational.

It grows within us, a byproduct of the Spirit at work in us when we trust and delight in His way.

Sometimes we feel like we’re in a sinking ship. Taking on water. Grappling. Questioning. Our ship busts apart, and we grab hold of a piece of the wreckage, struggling to find the solid ground of the shore again. But God, in His care and kindness, puts people in our life to run the race alongside us, if only for a while, to help us persevere. As Geneva would say, “Keep a stiff upper lip, and keep on truckin’!”

I will strive to do just that. To not lose my joy, keep a stiff upper lip, and keep on truckin’. To not look back at that which is behind me, but keep my eyes fixed on the eternal prize (Philippians 3:12-14). To praise the Lord for the gift that He gives us in relationships with the people He puts in our lives.