Do not be forgetful to entertain strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels unaware. This consummate verse of hospitality encourages love toward outsiders for no gain, yet ends with an unforeseen reward. The story I have to write in this feature does not in any way suggest that anyone included in it is an actual angel, only that the God-ordained intersections of our lives yields fruit upon fruit. We never fully know the impact made on our lives when we intersect with others and vice versa. This is a story about two career girls meeting up at a business lunch and striking up a deal with all of the subsequent beauty that followed in the years to come.
It was over a decade ago when I encountered a new friend Beth at a business luncheon. After our instant connection, though total strangers, I mentioned that she must come with me to Las Vegas for an international consortium. She didn’t want to come at all, but I insisted under the premise of three major things I need to survive: uninterrupted time with the blow dryer as I tackle my hair into submission, no talking before coffee, and don’t mess with my laptop. If she would get herself on the plane, I would take care of everything else. Beth agreed to come, but also broke every one of my self-made rules within the first day of our trip. Nevertheless, we got all dolled up and did everything we set out to do, leaving Vegas as friends. Little did we know that our chance meeting and trip to Vegas as roomies would continue to open concentric circles over the next decade.
While in Vegas, Beth recounted all of her stories of growing up with missionary parents, though I took one look at this glamorous gal and I could not reconcile the two worlds. She mentioned her father’s radio ministry around the world and how her sisters had become famously known for their harmonious vocal blends while performing Gospel songs. After departing from our iconic Vegas trip with Beth’s diamonds and furs and my bad hair, under-caffeinated moods, and lack of personal space, I thought the story was over, but God has continued weaving together our relationship with mutual connections. We had the souvenir of a lifetime with an epic photo of us appearing behind Keith Urban during his concert for approximately one nanosecond. To this day, whenever we visit with mutual friends, they still are entertained about that photo and our 1.3 seconds of fame in Vegas.
Admittedly, I initially doubted Beth’s tales about her famed Steffins Sister singers and missionary upbringing in Uruguay and Paraguay, I eventually found out that she was not kidding. Because of meeting Beth, her sister Jenny became my ride or die since we lived close in proximity and Beth lived some distance away. Jenny and I met for country club dinners and lodge slumber parties where we analyzed our own battles together. We grappled through issues over Mexican food, late nights, and places where doors opened for us because strangers knew we needed them to be. We bonded while in discussion, prayer, and the Living Word. When we were exhausted from talking into the wee hours, the giggling would start until somebody pulled out an inhaler.
Fast forward to fall of 2022 when my dear friend Mark drove three hours to play keyboard at church one Sunday. We went to lunch with a group after the service and said our goodbyes. A few weeks later, my unforgiving schedule demanded that I relinquish my coveted tickets to an anticipated big band event. Since the event was taking place in his hometown, I called Mark to see if he would put them to good use. God was already weaving this story.
I knew both Mark and Jenny, but they never met in spite of having hundreds of mutual friends. It was there at the big band concert where everything changed for Mark and for Jenny who was linked to the group putting on the concert and in attendance. It was like the movie “Sliding Doors.” One missed train, or one red light in Mark’s case, and somebody would not have been in the right place at the right time to say hello. A few days of Mark and Jenny bumping into each other that seemed to be divine appointments that led to a date that eventually led to their upcoming wedding! When I got the call, I reached out to my steady dance partner to explain that we HAD to go out of town for this wedding that was taking place partially as a result of us giving up the tickets to the big band.
Don’t get me wrong. Leading up to the wedding, I went through girlfriend grief. Jenny and I were the midnight calls. Mark was my male mastermind into the soul of men. I felt I was losing both of them from our single faithful. How was this going to look for me now that they had each other as number one? Eventually, I survived the shift in all of our relationships as I watched Mark and Jenny graft into one flesh under God’s loving care. Though we were warned in advance that there would be no dance floor at their wedding, my big band dance partner came anyway just to experience the wondrous result of our giving up those tickets. We were all overjoyed at this marvelous thing God had done!
I am no fool to think that God is not powerful enough to orchestrate connections without any help from me, but we got so tickled that we had a small part in their love story. God’s bigger design for Mark and Jenny has been such a sweet move of the Lord as I witnessed my two BFFs join together in marriage, something all of us midlife single gals that are still called to marriage hope to experience. Scores of my new “midnight talkers” get down and dirty talking Ruth and Boaz on a wild Saturday night just to get by. Jenny hasn’t disappeared either. She might be an old married woman now, but we still invite her to the underground party. We still defer to Mark when we need the male perspective.
This story of meeting Beth continues today with the growing tapestry of lives that are entwined from the fateful girls in Vegas trip. We could have never imagined how some day in the future we might sit back and look at the unseen hand of God revealing a little of what He had been up to all along. If that was all happening then, surely He is still working today on something precious only He will reveal in time. When God shows His face in this way, these are the moments of life in which our cups runneth over. Goodness and mercy are in hot pursuit. This is no time to resist change. Instead….hang on for the ride! Dwell in God. Rest in God and wait. Don’t discount the people God is bringing into your path. You never know what He is doing behind the scenes unless you are willing to walk it out, even if it’s uncomfortable.
Without Beth coming into my life, the way things look today could have been very different. When people see Mark and Jenny, they see bliss. When I see Mark and Jenny, I see those two girls on Keith Urban’s screen. Strangers, but having the time of their lives and never knowing they were part of a God’s grander scheme for a divine purpose.
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