Mary Flo

4/8/09 Gracious Goodness
That phrase encapsulates the essence of Mary Flo. For those of you who don’t recognize the name, she and her husband, Dave, are our Texas hosts. Do we know them? We do now. Did we before MAC invaded my life? No. How did we meet them? It’s a God thing. It’s such a God thing that it seems complicated, but only to us---though it is difficult to explain. Here’s the skinny of it.
My friend Sally’s, good friend, Kari, who was in her wedding and knows Crickett and went to seminary with my son, is in women’s ministry in Dallas. Got that? When Sally called Kari for input on a place to stay for her friend, Dotsy, who at the time was scheduled to go to Southwestern Medical, Kari took it on as a mission. Not wanting us to stay in a hotel in that part of Dallas, she related the problem to women at her church, Park Cities Presbytrian. Several folks came forward offering a back house or room in their home etc. Plus, she told Crickett that they were ready to “adopt” us and that the staff was already praying for me. Larry and I were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from this church. Once we met Mary Flo, it was a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want to stay with someone so kind and so filled with divine grace.

“Gracious goodness,” so describes her.
She is such a gracious lady who is filled with the goodness of the Lord. She is so filled with His goodness that it continually overflows to others---lots of others, even strangers like me. Her smile, kind words and positive spirit exude the love of God.
I could use lots of flowery descriptors so you could read of her deeds and catalog her in your mind as a super hero of sorts, but she wouldn’t want that. She would want you to see Jesus.


I certainly saw the Lord in her all hours of the day and night. She truly serves others---a real live foot washer. (and clothes washer) She has already called and e-mailed to let us know that she’s excited to see us again and wants us to make her home our home. Plus, she’s quite the baker and always has treats for us---remember I was working on a way to get her coconut cake in a syringe. All that gracious goodness will be waiting for us when we arrive tomorrow.

I’m sure that Mary Flo is a Proverbs 31 woman to all her family and friends. Though she personifies all of those qualities, to me she embodies Romans 12:11 The Revised Version, that I memorized years ago in hopes of emulating, says, “Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord.”
Zeal. She is a spiritual Energizer Bunny---not only does she keep going and going and going, she does it with purpose, the Lord’s purpose. His purpose is shown in her service to others.

Tombstone/headstone epitaphs are a reflection of one's existence highlighting one’s personality traits or accomplishments in life. It’s a way of communicating to the world his/her significance.
“Aglow with the Spirit” will be Mary Flo’s epitaph.

That gives me pause as my grandmother once said. How ‘bout you?
How ‘bout me? Would such godly phrases be used to describe us?