J.O.Y. President Mary Cecil Forbus presents speaker Kandi Anderson with a varigated Bougainvillea.

I’m sure you’ve heard of wedding crashers before, but have you ever heard of a J.O.Y.* Group crasher?  When I heard that Kandi Anderson would be speaking to the J.O.Y. Group at Grace Memorial Baptist Church this past Tuesday, I decided to see if I could slip in unnoticed.

The J.O.Y. Group was created for the more mature ladies at our church (and I do aspire to be mature one day!), but I ventured that no one was going to check my i.d.    Besides, I didn’t see a bouncer posted at the door!

Of course, the ladies were warm and welcoming, and I got to enjoy speaker Kandi Anderson’s special brand of humor and inspiration.  Kandi writes a regular column for The Sun Herald (check out “Everyday Reflections” in the Saturday edition); she is also the author of Buried Under Life’s Dirt and Fertilizer…IT’S JUST ANOTHER BLOOMIN’ DAY! She hopes to release her new book, That’ll Preach! in the near future.

As many in our local community know, Kandi’s beloved husband, Lowry (former pastor of Bel-Aire Baptist Church in Gulfport, Mississippi), was diagnosed with brain tumors in the prime of his life, and passed away within weeks of the discovery.   “I sure miss my sweetheart,” Kandi once said to me, but it is evident that she still has her zest for life and faith in God’s plan.

We were blessed to learn from her presentation that, in time, God provided Kandi with a wonderful, magical moment to assure her that Lowry’s love reaches from Heaven.  She has a beautiful story to tell.

Visit Kandi’s website to learn more about her ministry:  www.kandianderson.com

*J.O.Y. stands for Jesus first, Others second, You last …it’s a widow’s support group.

"I think I'm starting to look like Sparky..."

The Sunday before Nathan’s back surgery (to correct Congenital Kyphosis), I knew his last fun event would be the Awana Club meeting held that night at our church, Grace Memorial.  By the week’s end, he would be recovering in a body cast, a fact that had Bryan, me, and other family members sad and worried.  The year before, we had made it through surgery to correct a congenital heart defect known as Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return, a complication of Scimitar Syndrome.  We felt like:  “Oh, no, here we go again.”

The previous Sunday, Nathan had won the coveted “Sparky Award,” meaning he had earned the honor of spending the week with the stuffed firefly toy that served as the club mascot.  He would be returning Sparky and leaving the next morning for Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.  Before the meeting, Nathan and I sat down at my computer and concocted a letter to let his friends know he would not be coming to meetings for a while.  I don’t know if I’m right about this or not, but I have always suspected that God is particularly moved by the prayers of children.  In a way, this was probably my sneaky way of soliciting sweet petitions from His favorite little folks…

As we created the letter, I remembered a picture I had taken of one of Nathan’s amusing antics.  He had the wild idea to cover his face with Sparky stickers one day and, after recovering from the initial shock of his unexpected appearance, I snapped the above photo.  So we left this letter and the funny (maybe a little creepy?) picture with Awana Director Jamie Carver before we left the club meeting that night.

Nathan mugging with Awana leader, Larry Burns

To be truthful, my own ability to pray had become “crippled” so to speak, so I am grateful that the children and my church family picked up my slack.  The letter was shared with club members and the kids sent Nathan adorable handmade cards as he recovered.  I am told that they did, indeed, pray for him.

What a thrill it was to return to Awanas the following month!  He was not able to participate in the signature Awana running games, but our youth minister, Evan Dickson, cleverly had Nathan “calling the shots” during the games, allowing him to feel “in charge.”

As the months went by, he soon transitioned into a custom-made body brace, and little by little, regained his ability to run and play.  The body brace is gone… now it’s all just a terrible, and in some ways, wonderful, memory.

Related post:  The Principle of Finders Keepers

Nathan next to the marble run at Children's Hospital, finally heading home after spinal fusion surgery.

It was 3:00am, and I was in a spiritual crisis.  Tears were trailing down Nathan’s temples as he lay in a hospital bed at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans; he was fighting pain and trying to get used to his new body cast.  It had only been a year since his open heart surgery in Michigan.  Now I was watching him struggle to recover from spinal fusion surgery.  Doubt was creeping in–I was wondering how God could let this happen again, and I felt helpless and abandoned.

While I was dabbing his tears with a wadded piece of tissue, Nathan looked at me and quietly said, “Mom, I remember the principle of finders keepers.”

“Finders keepers?” I repeated with confusion.  Maybe he was delirious–talking nonsense, I thought.

Then Nathan said something I will never forget:  “God says, ‘I will never leave you; I will never forsake you.’  When you find God, you get to keep Him.”

I was too stunned to respond.  Such faith coming from a six-year-old.  He stared at me for a moment, then closed his eyes, leaving the skin at his brows to soften and settle.  Seems he had finally succumbed to his pain medication and had mercifully drifted off to sleep.  I don’t think any pastor has preached a sermon that bowled me over as much as Nathan did that night.

[Many thanks to Mrs. Kay VanderLey.  I learned weeks later that she taught Nathan the "principle of finders keepers" during Sunday School at Grace Memorial Baptist Church.]

Here are a few special stories about Nathan:  Nathan’s Prayer, Before the Back Surgery, and Reminiscing:  Nathan Buys the Shark Professional Cordless Sweeper.