----MYSTERIOUS WAYS~~
~~"All things work together for the good to those who love the Lord." 
--(Romans 8:28)
--MOM'S favorite color was purple. Most of her wardrobe consisted of shades of lilac and mauve. Every year for her birthday, we'd order a huge sheet cake with purple buttercream flowers to share with the other residents at her assisted living facility. Mom loved a get-together even more than she loved purple.
Mom lived a good, long life and died in her late eighties. The entire extended family gathered for her memorial service in Virginia. It was my sister Vicki's daughter, my niece Laurel, who suggested we ask everyone to wear purple. For those who forgot--or didn't have anything purple--Laurel made pins out of purple ribbon. A bright, happy color to celebrate the life of a bright, happy woman.
A year later, I still missed Mom. Vicki and her husband came out to Colorado to spend a week with my husband and me and take a trip with us to Yellowstone National Park. It was the first time my sister and I had seen each other since the funeral.
That first day, the guys went off to check out something in the garage. Vicki and I were in the kitchen. I was at the counter, getting dinner started, when Vicki said, "What's that?"
I looked where she was pointing. Lying on the floor was a ribbon. A purple ribbon. It hadn't been there before. I was sure of it. "Where did that come from?"
"It's not yours?" Vicki asked. "From Mom's service?"
"No," I said. "I didn't wear a ribbon. Neither did my husband. We both wore purple."
"So did I," said Vicki.
"Maybe Mom knows we're together," I said.
Vicki nodded, overcome with emotion. I picked up the ribbon and tucked it in my china cabinet.
Later that week, we were packing for our road trip to Yellowstone. "Lynda!" Vicki shouted from the guest room. "You have to see this!"
I don't know what I expected, but it certainly wasn't what Vicki was holding up to show me. Another purple ribbon. "I found it in my suitcase," she said. "I don't know how it could have gotten in there. I haven't used this bag since my trip to Holland. That was four years ago."
One purple ribbon could be written off as a coincidence. But two? It was more than that. ~~--Guideposts/LV~~~~~~~~~~
