Gloria Pierre Dean
A
JOY OF LIVING
licia bounded down the stairs and out the front
door in her Nike shoes. Well, she did not bound
physically, but in her heart she did.
Today was `play day’ at the women’s club, and she
loved going. Friends met at the church and played
board games, ate lunch and discussed the next things
to do for the year. She was wearing an orange t-shirt
and pants. She no longer wore black. To her, orange
meant happiness was back.
“ It was time to stop mourning and live again” she
vowed internally.
After a ten year marriage, darling Tobias had left
her and moved to another state with his mistress
and their two children. His action left her stunned,
bereft and alone. He had filed for divorce. They had
had no children. Like a good though deserted wife,
she still loved him and mourned the loss of trust and
companionship. The club reminded her that she was
still young.
She caught sight of herself in the car mirror. “I will lose
weight too” she quietly vowed to herself. Last week
she had donated lots of things like clothing and old
mementos to the yearly yard sale. The funds generated
would be sent to help the poor that the church’s
missionary partners worked with in needy areas.
Releasing herself from her manmade prison was
empowering.
“Life is for living” was Mama’s favourite line and she
remembered it often these days. Mama died ten years
ago with a smile on her face.
DOZ Magazine | January 2019
Many of her club friends had been or were going
through tough times, and she felt compassion for them.
She knew that prayer helped, so they started regular
prayer times. Prayer time at the club was uplifting
and valued by all of them. Increasingly a growing part
of her life was spent in the Word and prayer these
days. She also wondered if the Lord was leading her
to do short-term mission work for him, either here
or another country. She had been asking Him that
question too.
She looked in her mirror this morning and smiled.
“Praise the Lord!” She declared. She was thankful that
she could laugh and not cry as she had so often done
after Tobias left. Tomorrow she and Lucille would
volunteer at the local Retirement Home where they
transported people to appointments. They had so
much fun with the residents.
She drove to the club in the slow lane because it gave
her time to think, sing and listen to the local Moody
Radio. She had a hard time finding a parking space.
She went to the front door and could not see anyone,
so she went into the vestry which was empty. Then
she wandered into the kitchen area. Firstly, she saw
balloons.
“Looks like a celebration!” She thought to herself.
“Hello, Hello, where is everyone?” She called out.
“Surprise! Surprise!” The group yelled.
“What’s going on, girls?”
“We have awarded you the “Joy of Living” Award.”
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