The Lady I Never Met (But Our Spirits Touch)

Purim; Jewish holiday; Messianic Jew; Yeshua 

The Lady I Never Met (But Our Spirits Touch)

This will be a rather different post for me. I am writing about Claudia, a lady I never met, but I truly believe our Spirits touch. The only reason I know about her now is because she passed away on March 4th which also happens to be Purim. Purim is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from their enemies in the book of Esther. That is significant because Claudia’s lineage is of Jewish decent. Claudia practiced Messianic Judaism. Messianic Jews believe Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and continue to live and identify as Jews with their practices. They believe Judaism is best expressed in and through Yeshua (Jesus).

This is what I know about Claudia from her friends. She was so humble her friends did not know she held such titles as Ordained Minister or that she had a Bachelor in Theology. Some did not know she was a prison chaplain. 

She studied the Bible with people of all different denominations. What little I know of her, I deeply believe that she viewed everyone that followed Christ as the Bride of Christ, His Church. 

Her sisters in Christ told me her faith never caused her to tell them how they should live based on her relationship with the Lord and the Jewish practices—diet and holidays—she observed. 

As Claudia’s friends shared stories, I got the sense she was a deeply spiritual person and it showed in her activities. She volunteered and taught at the Center of Hope. She was a member of the Zonta club that empowers women through the use of their talents and time in their communities. She was a member of Congregation Yada Elohim. She was a city developer and served in at least five Chamber of Commerces in the surrounding counties. Some of these activities her friends did not even know about until they read her obituary.

This small group of ladies shared wonderful stories about her faith. The stories were about how she prayed and thought of others before herself. She prepared for others’ needs. She made a plan far in advance for her foster daughter to help in the transition of her passing. And, even in the last days while on hospice, in and out of consciousness, some of her last words were, “How are you doing?” to a lady she knew who was going through some changes in her life. Claudia was concerned about others as she stood at the revolving door of this life and the next. She was ready to see her Father in heaven, but was deeply concerned about her Christian friends.

She was the example of Christ we all talk about being. She probably would not say that about herself. She exuded Christ’s love to all that she met. She did not portray a ‘do-it-my-way’ attitude her friends said. She was understanding of each persons unique relationship with the Lord and she honored that even while it was different from her own.

She built others up in the Lord. She did not demand that her way was the ‘only way’. She only spoke that her Lord was THE Way. She did not believe she had it all figured out and continued to study His Word. She lived what the Holy Spirit disclosed to her by faith and allowed others to do the same.

I can't wait to meet Claudia in the great cloud of witnesses someday. She is up there with my uncle and grandparents and mother-in-law having a festival. And with each new arrival, the celebration continues in the Lord’s presence.

I wish I could have met her in this life. I love learning with other Christians who practice their faith differently than I. I glean from their relationship with the Lord to enhance my own. I feel like I could have asked her anything about her heritage; the ‘whys’ and ‘how comes’ and we would have had a gracious exchange where our souls met. I sorta feel like I ‘missed out’ not knowing her. However, I truly feel like I knew her by the legacy she left with her friends that lives on with them.  

I write about Claudia, who I have never met, because even in death, she has touched my life. Her legacy lives on far beyond what she could have hoped for. When Christ is so deeply intrenched in a soul, it speaks to others even though the mind and body are asleep. I thank God for how He has weaved Claudia into my life.