BY SEAN DIETRICH
SEANDIETRICH.COM
When I was a kid, church ladies ran the whole world.
Elderly women were always telling me what to do, randomly appearing from the shadows and trying to feed me.
Our little microcosmic community was operated by elderly women in beehive hairdos. They drove Lincolns, Mercury Grand Marquis, or Ford F-100 pickups with gun racks.
Church ladies carried the keys to our universe.
Not metaphorically, but worse. Allegorically. The keys to the school, the library, the church building, they were all on huge keychains which these ladies carried in their prodigious church-lady purses, which were bags about the size of Waffle Houses.
You could find anything you needed in those purses. Professional-grade first-aid kits, cosmetic supplies, a change of underpants, spare tires, etc. And if you were hungry, you could find a three-course meal in such a purse, although the food was likely to taste like Rolaids and purse dirt.
So, these were the women who raised me. They were always present in my life. They taught every class, directed every pageant, prepared every fellowship-hall supper, played piano for every Fifth Sunday sing, visited every hospital, and babysat you when your mom worked doubles.
And when you lost a loved one, it was these church ladies who organized the committee that overloaded your front porch with casseroles.
Which is exactly what happened when my father died. My father died by his own hand when I was 11. And the very next morning, I heard voices on our porch before sunrise. Ladies’ voices.
There were elderly women, leaving casserole pans, glass cookware, covered in foil, and Corningware dishes, nestled in gingham dishrags.
And it was also one such church lady who took pity on me in the weeks after my father died. After my father’s end, I lost weight because I could not eat. I slept all the time.
I’ll never forget the morning when one such elderly woman came to visit me. She took me in her Mercury Grand Marquis to the hospital one autumn afternoon.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
She didn’t even look at me. “You’ll see. Would you like a cookie?”
“No, ma’am.”
“They’re butterscotch.”
“No, thank you.”
“Don’t you like butterscotch?”
“Maybe just one.”
We arrived at the hospital, where another church lady was waiting for us. A lady I had never met before. Church ladies are like police departments, they have precincts all over this country.
The women took me to the third floor. There, we were greeted by more church ladies who were waiting for us.
They washed my little hands and dressed me in a paper gown. They put shoe-covers over my Chuck Taylors. They told me to be very quiet when we entered the next room.
Whereupon the church ladies and I entered the NICU.
There were babies everywhere. Infants in clear plastic crates. With little bodies, so pink against the stark white blankets, they looked like giant hotdogs. Plastic tubes were coming from their faces. Oxygen cannulas draped beneath their tiny noses.
“These babies need your love,” they told me.
The ladies sat me in an enormous easy chair and placed a newborn into my arms. They said my job was to cuddle.
And so it was, I cuddled infants for three hours. One baby, I’ll never forget her, was so small. I told her I loved her and she clasped her tiny hand around my finger. Which is how a baby says I love you back.
And well, that was the first day I felt like eating.
Matthew 25:40
Jesus says,
"Truly, I say to you,
as you did it to one of the least
of these my brothers,
you did it to me."
Matthew 21:1-10
The disciples
went
and did
as Jesus
had directed them
Nehemiah 8:10
The joy of the Lord
is your strength.
John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me
you may have peace
In the world you will have trouble.
But take heart, I have overcome the world.
1 John 5:5
Who is it that overcomes the world
except the one who
believes
that
Jesus is the Son of God?
Revelation 19:10,
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
11 Then I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!
The One sitting on it is called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire,
and on His head are many diadems,
and He has a Name written that no one knows
but
Himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the Name
by which He is called
is
The Word of God.
14 And the armies of Heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure,
were following Him
on
white horses.
Abba, Father,
Life
Jesus assures us the road has sharp turns,
Unforeseen corners and the comments do not cease.
Jesus Himself tells us
He is the way, the truth and the Life.
Know the Scriptures,
Know the Power of God.
And we will believe in the One He has Sent.
Surely, He took on our infirmities
and carried our sorrows;
yet, we considered Him stricken by God,
struck down and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace
was upon Him,
and by His stripes
we are healed.
Each Day we are Blessed
to ask for more
More Heaven on earth.
More Give us This Day.
More Daily Bread.
The Universe is upheld
by the
Power of Your Word.
May The Lord God Almighty
His Son Jesus
surround and uphold us
in This Peace.
The Peace is Upheld by God Himself
and
we ask
His Blessing and Favor.
Gently, we hand You our Cares
knowing Your Hands hold
this so well.
Tenderly.
And we are Loved and Filled.
We give thanks for
Your Sacrifice
to bring those unworthy
to be adopted into Your Family.
Knowing we are not perfect,
have weakness,
flaws
and sins.
And draw near to you with confidence
in Jesus Christ
according to Your Will
Your Word
Your Steadfast Love
and Your Promises in Jesus.
Dwell in us
and help us to be Pleasing to You
Dwell in those we Love and Honor
and help us to seek You first
and we will end well in Jesus Christ.
For this Nation
to
experience
and
Live
Peace
again.
For our families
to have His, Jesus Christ
Love
And for our first
grandchild
to have His Blessings
and Favor.
AND
The Nations
calling upon
Jesus Christ!
In the Highest Name
of Jesus Christ,
Amen
Yes, The Lord Fulfills His Purpose
Thank You, Jesus The Lord
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