the pill that makes me happy......

Hello friends.
I hope that you are well.
I want to tell you about Arlene. Last Thursday in the middle of "controlled chaos" :) , a woman and her friend stepped up to the front desk to sign in. The woman was visibly shaken and had tears in her eyes. She was desperate for assistance to keep her power turned on. Her name is Arlene. Her friend is Cody. The softness of her eyes struck me.
As her bill was over the $150 that the Coop could assist with, she needed to show me the difference. This is required so that we know the client can indeed pay the entire bill. Otherwise, the money given by the Coop has served no purpose.
Arlene did not have the balance. She was given a list of other possible sources of assistance and told to return to us when she had gathered her portion of the amount due on the bill. She left us with a heavy heart full of sorrow and worry.
The next day, the front desk person came into the office to tell me that she had returned. Praise God that she was able to make arrangements for the balance due on her bill. The Coop assisted her with the remaining $150.
As you all know, we have had plumbing problems over the last week. As I was speaking to Arlene, the pantry supervisor came over to report that the bathroom in the pantry trailer was still not working properly. I asked Cody if he was handy with plumbing. He was more than happy to assist us with the problem. He came back a few moments later with a big smile on his face reporting that he had already solved the problem. The valve had been shut off. Oops! It brought me joy to see him smiling. It brought Cody joy to "give back" to us as well. God is so good!
As I hugged Arlene goodbye, she looked at me and asked ..."please tell me what pill you are taking that makes you so happy." I spelled it out for her. J-E-S-U-S. No pill. Just joy beyond circumstances. I could tell that she was assuming that I had "no real troubles", so how could I understand. I began to tell her of my precious daddy's recent, unexpected death. Of my mom's fight against breast cancer that required over a year of intense treatment. And just as we breathed out, daddy died. There is NO WAY that I could make it one day without Jesus. He is the gas in my tank, the air under my wings, the twinkle in my eye.
Arlene looked longingly at me. At that moment, I loved her so. I sang a song in her ear. It goes like this:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Thank you God for sending Arlene and Cody to us, not once, but twice. And thank you that you saved the best for last.