Back in the early ’90s, I spent a summer doing missions work in south Texas. The sponsoring organization made a prayer calendar with our names & locations for church members to use as a reference while we were serving. I was spending the summer at the host pastor’s home, and one day, I received a letter in the mail with a $10 bill from a stranger — a woman who had been praying for me and felt compelled to write and send me some spending money. (I was thrilled, because I was Broke with a capital “B!”)

She lived in another part of the state, but we began a pen-pal friendship that summer, and she and I have corresponded over the years since. I went to visit her on a couple of occasions and saw her a few times a year when we lived in the Dallas area. We lovingly joke that we “adopted” each other. She has two grown daughters who are my mom’s age – neither of whom have children. Most of my grandparents died when I was young, so our relationship as “adopted” grandma & granddaughter blossomed.

Unfortunately, I lost touch with her a little over two years ago, and with all of the changes our family has undergone, I just let time get away from me. I felt compelled a couple of weeks ago to find her again, and I was pleased to track down her name to a retirement home not far from her old address. I sent her a letter and included pictures of the boys (she didn’t know about our expanded family, of course) and hoped that I would hear from her. (I tried not to think of the worst case scenario: that I had waited too long to get back in touch.)

How thrilled I was to receive a letter from her in the mail yesterday! It warmed my heart to hear from her and know that she’s doing as well as can be expected, at her advanced age. I’m thankful for this woman God placed in my life all those years ago and for the chance to reconnect with her. She’s a special lady.