A-L-Stellhorn@msn.com

“The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking; he rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins. The good man does not escape all troubles---he has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one.” Psalms 34:18-19

WHERE DO YOU GO WHEN THE JIG IS UP?

I cannot begin to express the experiences that come my way in words that truly tell the story. So much in my life has to do with me going out into the world and mingling with my brothers and sisters.

There is a song, written by my son and his band that reaches into my heart and yanks my soul to its utmost feelings for those in pain. If any of you remember Tennessee William’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” perhaps you can relate with me on this. One of the characters is Blanche and she is truly always waiting for the next jig to happen.

She drowns her sorrows in twisted make believe affairs, or perhaps, they are real, only “she” knows deep within her being. She drowns her sorrows in “booze” and as she stares into the glass, she knows, instinctively that is not the answer. She wonders, I am sure, “Where will I go when the jig is up.” As we find out in the end, she goes to an asylum.

Now step with me into the reality of 2008 and see where my jig takes me. My heart seems to dwell on “characters/folks” like Blanche, because, people, we do exist. Perhaps you or I do not drown our sorrows in booze and make believe affairs or crazy dreams, but we all do have our demons. Those demons may not be of the kind we read about in the Bible, however, we have those “things” that grab a hold of us and cause us to do things, think things, or say things, that we should not.

Another jig that I have, which I certainly was not happy to entertain, was the big word CANCER! Oh yes, this is Cancer Awareness Month and I AM A BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR now for two years. I do not dwell on the big C.

Just last week, my daughter, my granddaughter and I did some garage “saleing.” NOW, just imagine this……went to a garage sale by myself, saw things I thought my daughter would be interested in buying. Talked to the women at the sale and the daughter, in her 30’s has Brain Stem Cancer.

From the garage sale, I had an errand to do and went to a business where, again, the conversation came up about Cancer. I am doing a project for Parkview Hospital as part of my ministry to bring joy to folks with cancer. By the way, God gave me this vision, and that is another whole other wonderful story to share later.

Going back to the garage sale with my daughter and granddaughter, another wonderful woman came into our lives.

I know we all have children and grandchildren that we know are special, however, when someone points out that your child/grandchild is special, one really perks up.

Please, stay with me here, as I tell you how this all relates to Blanche’s character and the fact that God is close to those whose hearts are breaking (please read again the above verse).

Blanche suffered; in fact, we all suffer at one time or another. This day, I suffered for the young woman who has Brain Cancer and my heart sorely saddened. Then the SON shown Himself into our little world and we could feel His presence.

The woman who talked about how special my granddaughter is was a Cancer survivor. Now, here we are standing in this lovely yard at this garage sale. The breeze is blowing softly through my hair, I hear the walnuts “plop, plopping” on the ground. The sun is breaking through the dense cover of the leaves with glowing streams of beaming warmth. It is an utterly beautiful day around 4:00 P.M. My granddaughter has absolutely captivated the mother of the young woman with Brain Cancer. The young woman, too, is almost in tears from laughter at the antics of my granddaughter. The woman who said my granddaughter is special is going on and on about the beauty, the warmth, the glow, the spirit and the sweetness of my granddaughter. My daughter stands in awe. I do not stand in awe because I FEEL the love, the warmth, the spirit, and the joy that this child of three, who sings, dances and speaks well beyond her years is truly spreading the joy that God sends. God is sending “rescue” through her young, innocent laughter and joy.

We stand, we laugh, and we feel so strong in our lives, so filled with communion one with the other and all brought together because some of us “suffer” this ugly affliction. This affliction is body, not God. God gives us life, He does not send “affliction,” He helps us deal with life happenings.

I stand and say, “Wow, do I have a column for next week.” It is just too bad I cannot convey, enough in words, the joy and beauty of that time spent with God and three different families affected by the big C.

Therefore, no matter what you, and, you will have those times of trouble, those times of doubt, and those times of sorrow, reach out to others and to GOD. Some of you, yes, truly, some of you, will want to drown your sorrows in booze, drugs, illicit affairs, lying, cheating, but no worry. I say no worry, because you have an ADVOCAT in Jesus. You have the PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit and you have your FATHER, GOD, in Heaven to lead you on the right path.

All you have to do is talk to THEM. You must get out and mingle with people. Even when you feel the loneliest, the most painful, the grumpiest, OR the most drawn to do what you KNOW YOU SHOULD NOT DO, call upon God and join in a conversation with HIM.

I pray you experience some of the joy that I have received this week by being among my brothers and sisters in the world.

God bless you, and give you strength to defeat the “demons” that haunt you. May God comfort you and encourage you to go to the Holy Family for all your decisions in your lives. THEN, YOU WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN THE JIG IS UP!

Love and

I remain His humble servant,

Copyright Leigh Moran