"Stronger with each Tear"

I was very impressed when I watched Mary J. Blige yesterday on Oprah. She talked about her life before she became well-known. She visited the project building where she grew up, and even saw a lady there whom she knew when she was younger. She has learned a lot over the years. One statement she made that I loved was that we must learn to "forgive the unforgettable."

I liked her as a singer, but never thought of her as someone with such profundity. I liked what she had to say.

This morning I was watching GMA and they did a story on the man who found the eleven year old girl, who has autism, in a very large swamp in Florida. She had been lost for four days and people were losing hope. He was a member of their church and said that God lead him to her. He said he heard the voice of God tell him to follow the sun--he did and found a very calm girl sitting on a log. He used toilet paper to mark his way, because he knew the difficulty of getting into the swamp and wanted to know his way out. It was very helpful for the helicopter crews when he called 911.

George Stephanopolus said to the man "I see you have your Bible with you." The man replied "Yes, because I know that it was the Holy Spirit that did all of this, I am just an ordinary man." He was just that, an ordinary man--not preachy, not punctuating every statement with a scriptural reference, just an ordinary man telling his story. It was very powerful--he made no excuses for talking about his God directed experience.

I remembered Mary J., who also talked about hearing the voice of God at an amusement park in New York state. Sometimes, people don't take this seriously, and belittle these experiences instead of understanding that God makes us "stronger with each tear."

I am happy for the strength He gives me. I know that that is the source and I am very grateful for that. I too, heard that voice this week, through two magnificent friends, I am grateful for them and grateful that I have learned how to listen!