Mertha

A good friend of mine recently had a birthday, and I wanted to give a shout out to her and celebrate her years of life on earth. I remember the first time I ever saw Meredith, and let’s just say this was not a person I ever imagined being friends with at all. She and her ex-husband were not happy campers in those days, and he was a friend of mine so sometimes it is hard not to take sides. But somehow, and I am not sure how, after a few conversations with her, and then helping her out while she was going through some tough times, I realized that she was a pretty cool person. It was interesting seeing both sides of the equation, and I have to say that through it all, Mert spoke of her hope of reconciliation. I shared in her hope of the seemingly impossible. Well, God moved in ways that we mere mortals thought impossible, and the two became one once again in a beautiful ceremony down at the cross. Since then, I have to say that I am amazed at the difference. They are both such givers and speakers of life and hope now. Meredith is so special to me because she is like my personal encourager. Any time we have the opportunity to chat, she speaks such life and positive words of encouragement – from the Lord, from her personal walk and life – that I always go away feeling a whole lot better. I watched God take an angry, emotional mess and turn her into a shining diamond who brings so much glory to Him, and who touches the lives of so many people. (Often quite literally, as Mert’s love language is a solid punch to the bicep!) She loves to laugh, tell stories and concoct all sorts of dubious but healthy meals made from tofu and bean sprouts sprinkled with kombucha and marinaded with fresh garlic and kefir.

Meredith and Corey and their daughter Samii are intercessory missionaries at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO where they are directors of the Internships there. Meredith is also my wordsmith buddy and often uses descriptively interesting words like googy and chunk monkey. So to my good friend… Happy Birthday!