[__ Prayer __] Verna, again

[Christ_empowered]

My older, wiser, Pentecostal friend, Verna hasn't answered or returned my calls the past couple days. I know, ordinarily that's not a big deal--I'd need a break, too, if I were her--but she's usually on it about returning my calls ASAP.

I guess I'm concerned because she's had health problems (her kidney infection finally cleared up, btw--thank you for your prayers) and she's expressed concerns about having her grand-daughter in the house with her. She told me that she sleeps with the door to her room locked and she suspects the grand-daughter stole some money she had in a bank envelope.

There's also the typical, self-centered reaction when a close friend doesn't return or answer your calls. She's a solid, good Christian and excellent human being, so I think everything's fine there, but...yeah.

OK. Please pray for Verna. Thanks.

 

[Angel]

Praying

 

[Eugene]

.
Praying for her Brother Christ_empowered.

 

[Christ_empowered]

me again. Verna actually called tonight, not too long ago.

She's doing well. Her brother is helping her redo her will, which is a perfectly depressing subject, but probably one that everybody has to think about after a certain point. Despite everything, she's keeping both her kids in the will, which I think is charitable of her, to say the least.

I don't know why I got so worried and all. Weird. I think its just the nature of our friendship. I've only seen Verna in person once, when I was on an outing for a Teen Challenge program. I was part of the choir, so we'd go out, share our testimonies, then sing songs for churches (usually Pentecostal). So, Verna came up to me after our presentation was over, talked to me, and then put her name+address in the front page of my easy-to-read Bible w/ commentary by Max Lucado (I was burned out, so it was perfect).

I wrote to her once I'd completed Teen Challenge successfully and gotten settled in an apartment. She'd call me, and sometimes she was the only person I'd talk to for long stretches of time (I was living in a small town in Georgia). She was kind to me, and we've become actual friends since I got saved 4 years ago, after moving back home (and getting into some legal trouble, unfortunately).

Yeah. I guess I"m saying that The Lord is our common bond. She's in her mid-70s, old school Southerner, south Georgia, etc. Pentecostal since day 1. I'm a recently recovered, washed and made clean (insert sins and follies HERE) who grew up in the south but wasn't (and isn't) the most traditionally southern person ever.

And yet...we get along great. I'm blessed to know her. Since her husband, Ronnnie, died, I've come to realize that life really is fleeting. Verna's a tough lady, but not hearing from her for a little bit made me worry about her health, etc., plus the grand-daughter situation (which seems to be improving a bit, btw).

I'm rambling. Thanks for your ongoing prayers.

 

[AirDancer]

You were concerned about your friend, Christ_empowered, because you are filled with Christian love for her. Her unusual silence would naturally be disconcerting to you.

I'm glad she's doing well and is seeing to updating her will. That's something all of us should make sure is up to date as well, even you. In many if not all states, if a person dies without a will, the state can come in and make all the final decisions about the person's estate (even if it's just a small savings account or personal belongings like computers, stereos).

 

[Christ_empowered]

me again. I was just praying and...it dawned on me...Verna's my friend and all, but the BIG thing about our friendship is that she's imparted decades, a whole lifetime, of Christian wisdom to me, over the phone, day after day, for 4+ years now (since I got saved).

Plus, I've learned to care about other people. And Jesus, too.

Narcissism was terrible. Now, as best I know, I"m not diagnosed with full on narcissism, which means I'm completely different. There was this blog, The Last Psychiatrist, written by (you guessed it) a top notch psychiatrist. He was forever blogging about NPD and complaining about NPD-ers, which kind of bothered me (for obvious reasons).

Anyway, he wrote that to stop being truly, genuinely NPD, the narcissist would have to become a completely different person. Thing is, secular shrinks can't do that. CBT, DBT, pills, even psychoanalysis; shrinks can't do it. The Good News? Jesus can!

So, there you have it. My friend Verna has faciliated God's work in my life in a huge way, and now I still struggle with Self-(everything). As the Pentecostals in Georgia would say : "You have an 'I' problem!" Yup yup. But I'm not full on NPD.

This miracle brought to you by Jesus and an elderly, southern widow named Verna.

 

[Angel]

I'm glad she called.