TRUTH DISGUISED AS MAXINE

                           TRUTH DISGUISED AS MAXINE

"Open my eyes that I might see visions of truth thou hast for me."

     There she sat again in the doctor's office, a vision of truth sent for me. The interesting thing was that she was a replica of the greeting card character Maxine, an extraordinary looking woman with white frizzy hair, small in stature, wrinkled face and arms, and she was sitting in the most unladylike pose reading a red leather New Testament. She was a picture straight off of a greeting card or straight off of an internet email message.

     I had noticed her two weeks before, on another occasion, when she and her husband entered the same doctor's waiting room. She had on a bright red blouse with red and white seersucker pants and bright red shoes. The colors were unusually vibrant for a woman her age, which was probably late eighties, but my eyes were drawn to her because of the bright colors which contrasted with her white medium length frizzy hair. The combination just seemed to attract my admiring gaze. Maybe the attraction was because I love bright colors, too, and the older I get the brighter my choice of colors seems to get, so I felt a kinship with her.

     On the second occasion I saw her when she entered the waiting room. She was adorned in more demure colors, varying shades of beige. However, I recognized her immediately because she wasn't easy to overlook. She and her husband returned to the same seats they had previously occupied on the first occasion, as if the seats were permanently reserved for them.
     I began reading the morning paper, occasionally glancing at the woman out of the corner of my eye. She seemed to be worth watching.

     I became completely consumed with reading a particular editorial in the newspaper and for a full fifteen minutes didn't even glance at the real life replica of "Maxine". When I finished reading the article my attention immediately went to the woman. She was sitting in the most awkward position, skinny legs wide apart, purse nestled on the floor between her legs, and she was reading the New Testament with concentrated intent.

     Suddenly I heard the real life "Maxine" profess these words to her husband, "We are so blessed." To which he replied, "Yes, we truly are."

     As an observer of the pair and an eavesdropper to their conversation, I became blessed as a result. It was as if God had sent the woman to remind me that my husband and I are also blessed. We were eagerly waiting for a conference with the doctor to discuss the results of pathological tests which might require serious procedures.

     My eyes were clearly opened to see the miracle of the situation, that God had orchestrated the chance meeting again so that I could see and admire the lady in her unusual sitting position reading the New Testament where God promises healing to his children, and then to verbally hear the proclamation of, "We are so blessed," to remind me of my own blessings.
    Blinders fell from my eyes and I was again filled with faith because of the vision of truth that He had for me. He used an unusual vessel, one who certainly got my attention. She was the cutest thing I ever saw, wrinkles, frizzy hair and all. Maybe she was an angel in disguise. If so, that angel chose the right disguise, the one of a greeting card character that I love. She quickly opened my eyes and ears to the message that God wanted me to hear, reminding me that I'm blessed beyond belief.
     Whomever you are and whatever your name is, you are "Maxine" to me, an angel in disguise sending a greeting to me.
     Yes, I am blessed. I got the message loud and clear, the message which confirmed a truth I already knew, but it reaffirmed the reality of my many, many blessings.