WOW...what a whirlwind of 'stuff' lately! Valerie, Hispanic Church, possibly....Black Church......possibly....ALL TOGETHER! As Ken said, dare we step over that line? To a place where, yes, the prejudices in us, can spill out at any moment that our 'bucket' gets bumped? And to follow that question, do we dare NOT, and admit that we either can't, won't, or do not have the courage, or the faith in the One who put this Church here, to even try?! If we DO, then we have got to completely trust that He can fix anything! He is, after all, the ultimate 'damage repair'! Man cannot mess up ANYTHING so bad that God cannot fix it. Yes, it would be an immense challenge, even to the point of being somewhat scary. But, we would all be in the same boat! White, Black, Hispanic..we would ALL be waaayyyyy outside what we consider comfortable. But, when i look at the early Church, wow, what they had to contend with! Not just different cultures in the same country, but all those different countries and different languages! Whew! but...Paul summed it up best, i think, even though he was primarily speaking of the unsaved .He said....
"I have become all things to all men so that by all means, I might save some".
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Well...Valerie! i felt she was 'on a mission from God'. For US! There seem to me to be so many reasons for her being here, for her sufferings, for her troubles, for her strengths, and for her death. As the Church, and a close family, we can become so closed to those who come in and 'stir things up'. And we can become so comfortable in a place we love to be...with people we love to be with. And Valerie was one who could come in and put us all to work! And God bless her for it! Another reason...her brothers and her son. Her original family. They were separated, estranged. And the Lord kept her alive long enough for them to be found and to arrive. It was all so clear...like a script that only God could write! She was here for so short a time, and made such an eternal impact...it is mind-boggling!
On my way home today(Sunday), thinking of her, the old picture and words of 'Footprints' came flooding into my mind. I could not remember every word, but the point came through.....
"........Lord, as I looked back at the footprints, I saw that during the hardest times, during the darkest periods of my life, there were only one set of footprints. Why, during the times I needed you most, were You not walking beside me? " And His reply hit me like a truck....
" My dear child...I would never leave you...during those times of trial and darkness, when you saw only one set of footprints...it was during those times that I carried you".

And HE has carried her alllll the way HOME!!!! mark