It is a quiet Friday morning and I might have slept a little longer but Buddy still hasn't adjusted time-wise that we rarely do early mornings around here. Now that she has me up and she has had her treats, she has gone back upstairs to begin her first morning nap. The squirrel is back and the chili powder doesn't even seem to phase it.
This week an event that in years past I have been all over is early access to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I must admit I haven't been all that involved with it for the past few years, not taking advantage of early access but I did drop in to see what the fuss was all about once it started for the general public. Don't get me wrong, I still be loving the Nord but the sway of being "in" on the early access passed long ago. I did go and look at a few things online yesterday but instead of clothes, I was looking at towels, home stuff and comfortable shoes. Stylish comfortable shoes but the emphasis is on comfort. I think too, it was more fun looking through the catalog with Lisa P and picking out things that would look good on other friends and talking about what we would buy if money was no object. Lisa P and I spent an entire flight to Chicago doing just that one time.
Ah, my good friend Lisa P. I don't remember how we officially met, but she was singing with the choir time to time and we would talk. We both love Kirk Franklin and around the time Revolution was a popular song. I would come up to her and say in my best "white" voice, "I would love to experience this Revolution (God's Word and power), so how might I procure a Revolution?" Peggy and I backed her up once on Shackles, that's where we got to know one other officially, and of course Peggy and I were not there for our voices but for our 'mad' moves and choreography. Lisa was worried I wasn't getting it but I assured her not to worry, when it was performance time...it would be just fine. (I'm not a good practice person) We had a blast with her and I have always admired her willingness to do fun things with the less talented, that would be Peggy and me. When someone has a voice like hers, many times they tend to stay on the serious side of music... Anyway, I have been thinking about her this week not just because she is going to sing at church when she visits in October but ten years ago this week our friendship was cemented together, for the spiritual reference, our hearts were knit together. Ten years ago I thought I was going to have female surgery to give me a better quality of life. I was driving home from the Doctor appointment when my cell phone rang. It was the Doctor's office, it was the Dr. He had just looked at the ultrasound and he saw a tumor, a big tumor. He said he wouldn't know if it was cancer until surgery and that he was scheduling an oncologist to be there for the surgery. They called back again before I could get home and rescheduled surgery for July 5th. I was driving home in Houston five o'clock traffic in a daze. Roy was in meetings and I could not get a hold of him. In the span of thirty minutes surgery had gone from quality of life to this could be saving your life. Surgery was successful and the tumor was not cancerous. Right before I was to check out of the hospital, the Dr came in to see me before releasing me. He sat on the edge of the bed and told me he had rescheduled my surgery for the fifth because of the oncologist's schedule. In his experience this always turned out to be cancer was shocked when it wasn't. I shared with him about God and Jesus and the prayers of many who had covered him and me. In that extra long time, a month of waiting, I felt like God was healing me...while I waited.
I was away from the office for six weeks while I recovered. Our computer went out right before surgery, so I was really out of contact with the daily at work and could truly rest. Every morning, Lisa P and I would talk on the phone. Our rally cry at the time was new mercies, new mercies, new mercies. I was reading a book called New Mercies...it was fiction and not even Christian fiction...which as I have said many times before is an oxymoron but loved that the main character in the book knew God's mercies are new every morning, great is His faithfulness. Her friendship was such an extraordinary gift for that time and her friendship is the gift that keeps on giving because I feel the same way today, an extraordinary gift...Lisa P. We have loved life and the Lord and yes the Nord together for many years. We love TCM...we love talking about the movie The Bad Seed and Gone With the Wind. We have walked together on some tough roads but laughed, prayed and cried while walking together. Lisa P, Peggy, Dena and I celebrated my last day of being 49 with a day at the Nord SPA and makeovers and dinner at Lupe's. It is one of my favorite days of my life. Dena, Lisa P and I scarfed back some beignets in New Orleans. When Lisa P sang with Women of Faith, I waited in anticipation for the phone call on Friday afternoons when she sang Ain't No Mountain High Enough with Sandi Patty.
One of our favorite discussions from The Bad Seed is how many times Christine says to Rhoda, the bad seed, or friend Monica, we must learn to accept these things. I said that several times to someone this week and every time I said it, I was laughing on the inside thinking of our discussions.
To end this post today, here is Whitney singing one of my favorite songs and if the Lord tarries and Lisa P is around do to so, I want her to sing this song at my funeral. But while on this earth, I love hearing her sing this song and many others.... I love you friend, my friend Lisa P.
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