A Remarkable Reunion
Faye Hobbs
During Thanksgiving in 2017, I remembered
how grateful I was for friends. I became
determined to find all those old friends that I'd lost touch with over the
years. Since I had moved around a lot and had even lost my address book, I
realized my commitment to this search was going to be a difficult task. I decided to begin by finding the oldest and
first friend I'd made when I moved to Orlando back in 1959! I was delighted when I found that her
children had set up a Facebook page for her!
She lives in Maryland and is 95 years young! We are now in contact, and
I read her comments on social media!
I
felt God's hand in this work of being grateful and letting people know how they
touched my life along the way. I
succeeded in my quest… except for locating one lady I had known and loved,
Rosena. We used to attend Good Shepherd
Church in Hayesville, North Carolina together.
My pursuit
became quite serious when I woke up in the middle of the night and heard the
Holy Spirit’s voice saying, “Go find Rosena.” I was stunned! I answered, “It will take some doing since I
have no idea where her children have moved her. It has been over eight years
since I last saw her.” I prayed, “Lord, I need your help if I'm going to find
her. I haven't got a clue!” and I heard, “You are going to St.
Augustine, aren't you?!”
Actually, I did have plans to go there for the
Christmas Festival of Lights! Suddenly I
recalled that Rosena had a daughter who lived there, but I didn't know her
name. However, I did know that she had attended the Episcopal church in the
city and was a member of Daughters of the King.
My prayers went up again for the Lord’s help.
I
called the church and left a message. No
reply. I then called our former church
in Hayesville and asked the secretary if she had any forwarding address. The
latest one they had was in St. Augustine, Florida! “YES!” I thought to myself, “With the Lord’s
help, I am going to find my dear friend.” Excitedly, I searched the internet for
the address. It was listed as a memory
loss facility. My heart jumped! I called the number. Due to rules and regulations, the lady who
answered could tell me nothing.
I
was not going to give up! I wrote a card to her and sent a picture of the two
of us in years past. Still I heard nothing back from anyone. Still I kept hoping that God would let me
find her. I continued to kept faith
that there would be a way. I needed to let
her know how much she is loved and missed.
On December 21st as I was about
to leave the old city, I decided to check out this facility even though I had
no right to information about her. I arrived
about one o'clock. The residents were
just coming into the lobby from the dining room. They were still sitting in their wheelchairs;
some talking to others. I saw Rosena immediately - just as pretty ever and with
the same sweet smile I remembered. I could see she was still the kind and
compassionate soul I called my friend. I didn't even have to ask permission
from anyone if I could see her! As I
approached her, her eyes filled with tears.
She grabbed her heart and said, “Oh my, this is almost too much to
take in! I can't believe you found me!” We both shed tears and laughter as we sat
recalling our happy adventures together.
She said she was now 87; I told her I would soon be 80. I told her that I remembered her birthday to
be April 12, 1923. She replied quite
quickly, “Well, guess I'm 94 then! But how did you remember that?” I answered
that she was very important to me, and that I had given her a party for her 85th
birthday. She shook her head and said, “Oh, yes, now I remember!” As we
talked I learned that she, too, had lost touch with most of her friends. She was thankful that her son had found this
lovely home for her, and that her granddaughter came every Wednesday night to
see her. Her daughter still lives in the
city. It warmed my heart to know she was happy, relatively well and doing just
fine getting around. Although she displayed some memory loss, it was not easily
recognizable.
During
my visit I told her that Father John Rice, who was our priest at Good Shepherd
Hayesville, sent his love and best wishes.
Hearing this, her eyes filled with tears again as she said, “Oh, My
Father John!” for she loved him dearly – just as he loved her.
Jesus gave us such a precious gift of
friendship for many years. We shared the joy and love as we were reunited. We had the chance to let each other know how
much we have impacted each others’ lives.
Since
our visit, sadly her number has been disconnected. Although she hasn’t responded to my letters
or cards, I have a feeling she is still there. When I return next summer, you can bet I will
try my best to see my dear friend once again.
The
laughter we shared remains in my heart.
We had so much to be thankful for - especially the way the Lord
orchestrated all this so perfectly - down to the very last minute. The Master
himself set this all up; I just followed each nudge.
