Josie

So, I am cruising along today, cleaning the ponds out and doing this that and the other thing type of minutia. Temps are perfect, weather great, what could happen today?

Josie calls me totally out of the blue. I had thought about her yesterday while with Mary.

Josie is the widow of one of the best friends I have ever had who died 1 year ago, yesterday/New Year's Eve Day, quite suddenly and out of the blue, btw.

She started crying on the phone immediately. Her family has all but abandoned her.  She has tried to commit suicide 3 times, she confesses, in the last year.  She got aneurysms from the cuts and has had to spend time in the hospital because of it.  She is at the end of her rope - the bottom of the barrel - and she called me because she had no-one left to call.

It got intensely emotional quickly.  But, I have only 1 answer to life and what it deals us.  She was married to Boe for 46 years, I think it was.  Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of his passing. She doesn't know what to do, she doesn't know where or who to turn to.  I could do nothing present the Lord to her.  I have no other answers.  I wouldn't try to give other answers because there is nothing to fill a void like that excepting the love of the Lord.

The pain is, she stated and it was obvious, as intense today as it was 366 days ago when he passed.  I asked some pointed questions.  I can't not.  It's vital to dealing with the issue if you are really going to get to the root of the problem. You can play mushy-mushy and say how it's going to get better - when you know unless something changes, it is not going to get better, it is going to get worse.  She will, eventually, find a way to take her own life if this situation isn't radically changed.

I offered to walk with her through this - but through the church.

So, I contacted the pastor through email and awaiting his reply.  I am asking him to contact her and hopefully pray with her and give her some of the warmth that comes through someone that has that anointing on their life.  He definitely has that.  I know he will call her, it's a granted given.  That is his heart towards the Lord and for people.

The "stuff" in life is never-ending.  I can only explain it through my beliefs.  We aren't here to just live our lives and that's that.  We are here to love the Lord and love one another.  I know, what are you saying when you just posted such and such about your neighbors.  Yup, I don't much care for them.  But I have also hoped and prayed that some sort of conclusion that is amiable in the end will come.  I don't know how, but with God, all things are possible.

I came back in the house shortly after that call, sat down, began to absorb all of that and Caleb came out of his bedroom.  I shared with him the phone call and we both shed some tears.  I don't care what anyone thinks, it's a tragedy when a person has lost hope in life to the point that they want to end it on their own.

For the sake of the my long-time friend who is now in heaven and because of the love the Lord and the love that the Lord has for all of us - and for the sake of Josie, I am going to exert whatever energies I have and can give to trying to help her walk through this.