Evelyn

Recent conversations brought to mind a dear old friend, Evelyn.   I met her in my early twenties, and she was a part of my life until she died twenty something years later.  Evelyn was larger than life.  She was a person of tremendous faith, about which she was always vocal.  She was also generous, warm, loud, fun, loving, maternal and everyone's "grandma".   Evelyn was loved by all who knew her.

In my early thirties, things were not going very well for me. My marriage fell apart and I was left alone with three small children, to fend for myself, indeed just to survive.  Evelyn (and sometimes her family) became my family.  My own family lived far far away, so I had to 'make family' wherever I could.  Mostly, my family was 'the church'.  But for quite a while, Evelyn was my friend, my confidant, my support system, even my babysitter occasionally.

We did come from different faith traditions, however.  Evelyn was a die-hard Baptist, who spoke that specific language of faith.  By that I mean that she had one question of everyone she encountered:  Have you been saved?  

That's never been my favorite question.   I had always grown up (Wesleyan)  believing that you were saved by your baptism, your confirmation, your confession,  your beliefs,  your practices.   To Evelyn, it was all about that one moment of conversion.  Everyone was supposed to be able to name the time and the moment and the place when they were born again.

My tendency is to think that we are continually 'born again'.   At any rate,  thinking of this dear old friend gave me a vision, which I cherish.  In a clear mental picture,  I saw that Evelyn was on my committee, my welcoming committee---the one that greets you and embraces you and  ushers you over to the other realm.   I'm confident that if there is anyone who would be there on my welcoming committee, it is Evelyn.

And that really gives me something to look forward to!