On Sunday I went to a memorial service for a friend of mine who passed away, Beverly Buchanan. Bev hired me when I went to work for Haggen, and I worked with her for a number of years until she left Haggen and I took her job. After that our contact was few and far between. But, as I sat at the service and listened and reminisced, I could only wonder where she stood with God. Those are conversations we never had, and it was not readily apparent from the service the role God played in her life. Then, this morning, some words from Tony Campolo came to mind:

“When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy.
The only question that matters is this: When you die,
will YOU be happy when everybody else is crying?”

Now, I can’t remember from whom I heard or read that prayers transcend time. It’s a real lofty idea, one that I’m not sure that I can really explain well. But could it be possible that if I today pray for someone to accept Christ into their heart, that upon hearing that prayer God could–even though that person has departed this earth–have worked in that person’s life to answer my prayer while they were still alive? Did that even come close to making sense? It seems possible, to me, since God does not define time the same way as I do (whew!). Yet, the concept of prayers being answered before they are ushered forth is…

Faith, as a gift from Him, is immeasurable in its worth. So, I will have faith that others stepped in and shared God’s word with Bev. With that I must also pray that God strengthens and guides me in sharing His love for those who have not let Him into their heart.

“if I have kept my bread to myself,
       not sharing it with the fatherless –
then [this] would be sin to be judged,
       for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.”
– Job 17 & 28