Linda...The Unexpected Blessing of Saying Yes

Over the last 4 years, God took my few "yes's" amidst many "no's" and something so crazy happened.  I made a friend named Linda! 

This January, Linda, at age 55 died.

Here is the story of our crazy adventure:

LINDA
This last December, I’d just had drinks with Jennie Allen.  We were driving home and I told her, “Yea, I think we are going to have my friend Linda over for Christmas. She lives over there in that ditch".  She looked at me and said, “I think that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard you say."

Let me tell you a little bit about Linda.

About 5 years ago, God was doing some crazy things in my life and dealing with an issue of mine; a wound called "invisibility" that I believed I carried from circumstances in my past.  What was crazy was that He was flipping that wound and opening my eyes to things that I had never seen before.  The "Invisible".  More specifically, a homeless community near my home.  It was as if God took my view of them…dirty; drunk; addicted; criminal and He put you.  Fragile; broken; lonely;  HUMAN! And I knew I had to get closer.

It was Christmas 2009.  We sat around a picnic table over pizza and Sprite and I remembered how silly I felt for waiting so long. We met Steve, Terry, Rose and Linda.  I didn’t have an agenda, I just wanted them to feel human. 

Linda was the one I saw.  My kids saw her.  She was a little thing, American Indian decent, dark, weathered skin, and a long braid turned dread running down her back.

Sometimes I would give her food, sometimes money, and once a hug.  I remember that day.  I saw her on the street in a place where I could pull over.  We chatted; the kids in the car hanging out of the window so they could be a part of our conversation.  My deepest desire was for her to know God’s love.  To know how He saw her.  As we talked I sensed her humanity growing in my eyes as well.  And then, I remember, she came in for a hug.  And I hesitated. But I gave in.  I think that was the day Linda became a friend. 

On cold days I’d drop off blankets by her ditch with a cardboard pallet that she called “home”;  I didn’t see her often but when it had been too long, I would get worried.  I knew her decisions weren’t always wise.  But I knew mine weren’t either.  So we prayed for her.  My little boy prayed for her.  He always prayed Linda would have a family! 

Linda had a family but they had been estranged for almost 20 years.  She had a husband but he’d been in prison for a long time.  For all practical purposes she was alone.

This winter I got a call from Linda on a very cold night asking if we would allow her to stay in our home.  “Of course”, I said, and then wondered.  But we picked her up and fed her hot soup and had a good conversation.  Linda had a lot to say.  She’d lived a very hard life as you can only imagine and wanted someone to know her story; Someone to be a witness.  That night I turned off the lights but never slept.  What have I done?  A boundary had been crossed and I was afraid. Was this safe?  My kids?  My neighbors? And did I want to be this close?

But God kept giving my grace.

A few weeks later, I saw Linda by her ditch.  She was excited!  She had a secret to share!  She’d been saving all of the money she’d made on the corner and was going to buy herself a drivable RV and move to Florida where she would start her new life off of the streets. And it was her birthday.  She was 52.  So, we decided to celebrate.   Dinner at Luby's!

That night we talked about Christmas.  Linda didn’t have any plans and neither did we.  She would come over, we’d cut off her braid, give her some make up and get her some Noonday accessories to complete her look :o)

When Christmas came around, Linda wasn’t to be found.  But I didn’t worry.  I was relieved. So Christmas came and went.  

On Dec 31^st at 6 am, the phone rang.  It was Linda crying.  It had been a cold night and she said she was frozen.

My husband picked her up and brought her to our house.  She literally couldn’t walk.  There was no feeling in her feet.  We tried unsuccessfully to warm her body past her 94 degree body temperature but decided it was time to head the ER.  The Dr’s said she had an extremely bad case of pneumonia and that we’d actually just barely saved her life.  That night I left the ER thinking how awful this was, but so grateful she was going to be ok.

The next day I went to see Linda in the ICU.  Her eyes wide and her words few.  She pulled back the sheets to show me.   Her legs were black.  “They have to cut off my legs”, she said. My heart sank and my brain spun.  The doctor and nurse took me aside to share that there was a blood clot in her aorta and that her body was dead from the belly button down!  Her time on earth was over.

So we rallied.  We found her husband and got him to the hospital.  Her words to him, I’ll never forget.  For years she had awaited his release and today was her first day to lay eyes on him.  I stood behind him as he walked in the door and watched as her eyes met his.  Unexpectedly, they were wide and urgent; and her finger pointed.  “I need to talk to you” she said.  “You’ve got to do business with Jesus Christ!!  Because you just never know when something like this could happen to you!”  

Linda was a spunky little fighter and passed away January 7^th.

I don’t know why God had my paths cross with Linda’s.  But I do know that Jesus saw her and He gave me eyes to see her.  But I really think what I saw because of Linda, was Jesus!

Matthew 25:37-40

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

And then there was this!  How in the world did this happen?  A sweet friend named Jennie Allen seems to always have a way with making my life just a wee bit uncomfortable.  But to me, this was just another "YES" in a long line of choices of obedience with Linda.  For some reason, He wants her story to be told.  I don't really know the why's.  But why doesn't seem to matter too much right now.  

I'm learning to say "yes" in the moments that God gives me.  I say "no" all of the time.  But it's in the "yes's" that I have the most fun!