| Sunny Side Up �2002, Kathleen Gibson March 5, 2003 Another of God�s delightful surprises One of my editors forwarded a letter to me a while back, one that had arrived at the magazine�s head office addressed to me. Hearing from readers tickles me always, but this letter left me open-mouthed. AIR MAIL, the envelope said, and it bore an exquisite orange butterfly stamp. In the left corner of the stamp were a few unrecognizable letters, and below them a single word�INDIA. The handwritten address was large and careful, as though the writer wanted to be certain the letter arrived where intended. Curious, careful not to destroy the stamp, I slit open the envelope and drew out a single handwritten page, signed simply: Esther. She�d read one of my articles that had been picked up and reprinted by Reader�s Digest India. The article described my practice of skipping for emotional and physical fitness, but I�d casually mentioned God. For that reason she wrote. The letter arrived during a week of personal examination. Soulwork, I call it sometimes. As a Christian who writes mostly for the secular market, I had been experiencing a wee bit of �professional depression.� Wondering if my noble aims of pointing to truth amidst so many conflicting voices were simply pipe dreams. Wondering if I�d heard God correctly about my writing assignments, if my time could be better spent. Where, I had been asking myself, can God take a single voice�a small, normal voice? What can he do with that? Then came that letter. I responded to Esther from India. I answered her general questions, then felt clear inner direction to add this: �I am a follower of Jesus Christ, God�s only Son. He is the reason for the joy and peace in my life. Long ago I asked him to forgive my sins, to enter my life and become my Lord and Master. He has been my security and best friend through all my life�s storms. I love reading my Bible, especially verses that remind me that when I fail him, he forgives; when I fall, he picks me up; when I am afraid, he is my shelter; when I am rejected, he accepts; when I am weak�he is strong. I have experienced all of that, many times.� A few weeks later I received a package containing a handmade tablecloth, a card, and a much longer letter. Esther again. Overjoyed. I�m a believer too, she told me, one of only two percent of the Indian population who are Christian. �We are an oppressed people,� she stated, matter of factly. �Please pray for my country. And please send more articles.� She has a master�s degree in literature, I discovered, but spends her days caring for widows in her community�young, old, handicapped, forgotten. And she�d been praying for a Christian friend in Canada. Thought God, one fine day: Esther in India desires a friend in Canada. Kathleen in Canada wonders about her words. Hmm� He goes to a lot of bother, it seems to me, for his obedient children. Respond to this column at [email protected] |
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