A very special lady

In my short life, I have had the pleasure to come across an extremely special lady to whom this post is dedicated. Mrs. Gwendolyn Cole and her husband Ed live directly across the street from us and a little to the right. You'd know their house if you passed it, because it is a small mansion. Four stories tall, it sports a vast lawn and several gardens and several lovely gables. They are known to many as the patrons of Nacogdoches, sponsoring everything from the SFA music department, to the Fredonia hotel to LampLite to The Maryse Gobel Ballet Academy. Not only is Mrs. Gwen rich, she possesses the gift of great hospitality.

1 Peter 4: 8-11a
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."

These commandments are manifested in every action of Mrs. Gwen. When Liv was born we were invited to a splendid dinner. When Phil was born, we were treated to the same, as well as after every concert Dad performs, every time one of us is in the paper for some insignificant matter, and so on.

When the hurricane hit, Mrs. Gwen payed us a visit to, you guessed it, invite us to come live temporarily at their house, which we accepted, and ended up staying for three full weeks. It was heaven. We were each given our own room and given free run of the house. I tell you we never had a grander time! We explored to our heart's content, though we never did walk through it all. It seemed to go on and on, even bigger on the inside then it looks on the outside. They have a pump organ and a whole room full of hundreds of songs. But I never did find The Lord Bless You And Keep You, though I looked and looked. We were quick to learn how to play, the hard part was stopping. Heaven forbid we should play too much and make a nuisance of ourselves.

Last week, we were surprised by a visit from Mrs. Gwen and her husband, bearing presents! Ell and I received lovely china dishes to hold jewelry and such, perfect for what we have.

Mrs. Gwen loves everybody, and everybody loves Mrs. Gwen. She never grumbles, and is quick beyond quick to display a marvelous hospitality. The gifts she has are distributed around with much joy, and her words are always cheering. When your feeling sad, you can expect an uncannily timed phone call from Mrs. Gwen, telling you about the robin's egg she found in her rose bush, a treasure she found in a trunk somewhere, and once, she called to say she'd found The Lord Bless You And Keep You. I went over that very afternoon to play it.

Mrs. Gwen is a blessing from God, an angel in disguise. Do you know a person like that? Maybe not, for they are very rare indeed.