Of Saints and Miracles

"I sing a song of the saints of God…" springs to mind as All Saints Day (November 1) approaches.  I sang the hymn for years at Ascension Episcopal Church in Pueblo, Colorado, but how much more it means to me this year….a year so filled with emotional pain, unexpected change, and hard spiritual and physical labor, that from time to time I've felt overwhelmed.  Enter the still living saints…older and wiser…who have lifted me up with encouragement and prayer and helped me to see that it's in the darkest hours of life that the light of God's love and faithfulness shines most brightly.

with cousin Lois Tidgwell in Upland, California

As the hymn goes, the saints "loved their Lord…and his love made them strong." My cousin Lois Tidgwell and long-time family friends Doyle and Thelma Book (former missionaries to Japan) exemplify that love, that strength! I want to learn more of what it means to abide in such love.  What a gift to spend time with these three during business trips from Baja California, Mexico to southern California over the past few months.

wise friends Doyle and Thelma Book

On one of those border crossings, my son Owen (25) and I pulled into a long line in the city of Tecate...typically a much easier crossing point than the busy Tijuana portal 30 miles to the west.  It was the day after US Labor Day; many were going to work on the US side.  We'd followed other vehicles through one of several side street entrances and thought we were at the end of the line, but soon a truck came round a corner behind us, honking.  Fifteen minutes later a Mexican policeman pulled alongside and said to Owen, who was driving, "You cut in line."  I asked Owen to explain, but the officer politely said: "No, you need to follow me and go to the end of the line."

By now the line was double what it had been when we'd entered around 6:10 am!  "So 
unfair," I groaned, "How will we make it to San Diego in time?"  (I needed to get to the Mexican consulate to apply for a residency visa.).  Then Owen and I began talking about disparities…about poverty and privilege and things we take for granted.  It hit me that with a pension I can choose to live in Mexico while many Mexicans make that daily trip across the border out of necessity to support their families.  Owen said: "I don't want to live a privileged life, I want to experience life more as the poor do."  I said: "In God's economy the first shall be last and the last shall be first."  

I relaxed, embraced patience (very hard for me!).  Owen turned on a praise CD; we sang along.  I glanced at my watch at 6:50, noted the long, long line stretching over several hills ahead of us, and estimated we might cross the border by about 8:30 and get to San Diego in time.  Ten minutes later we rolled up to the border check point.  What was

US Port of Entry at Tecate

happening?  We scratched our heads, incredulous!  It was 7:05 am when we pulled onto American soil.  It took a little time for it to sink in...we had been transported. We burst out in shouts of praise. I danced in my car seat; Owen whooped.  Since that day, whenever I get discouraged or feel exhausted, I remember Psalm 18:29:  "…by my God I can leap over a wall."