“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else…”
I Thessalonians 3:12
On one of my thrift store shopping sprees, a huge Cadillac drove by and it reminded me of my godmother Helen Fortin. Helen was a very proper lady who never went out without having perfect hair and make up. I can still remember her scent that lingered, a mixture of makeup and perfume. Her red lipstick and red Cadillac are permanent, pleasant stains in my memory.
Helen made a huge impact on my parents and invested in them as a young couple. In fact, she lent them $100 cash for the down payment on their first house when family members would not. Helen unquestioningly handed over the cash with the full confidence that my father would work hard and pay her back.
Mrs. Fortin was also quite unconventional. She was a health nut as she kept gallons of yogurt and other weird things in her fridge. When we visited her, she sometimes invited us to stay for dinner. A wave of panic swept over me because I had no idea what I was about to experience.
If she was in our neighborhood for an appointment, she would just drop in. Countless times Helen would sit in her red Cadillac in the driveway and just wait for someone to come home. Who knows how long she sat there? The world stopped because Helen was here. And whatever was going to happen, wasn’t going to happen anymore.
I remember walking in my house and she would greet me with a big hug and kiss me on the cheek with those red lips. Oh, she smelled wonderful, but that lipstick. It would stain my face and I think she quietly enjoyed that it left a mark. But, she showed up and she cared and she made us remember that we were important to her.
In 1 Thessalonians 3, Paul talks about this kind of love. A love that encourages and supports regardless of circumstances. A love that lingers even when separated by time or distance. A love that is sometimes untimely, but ever present.
Helen’s Cadillac made me think of those lipstick kisses and my interactions with others.
Choosing to be present over minding my to do list is essential if my love is to overflow into others. People are always more important than whatever task is before me. I pray that I choose to love and cherish my divine appointments.
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