Love Tornado

POSTCARDS FROM GOD "Albertina," my friend Justine asks me, "do you really think the Lord is sending you postcards?" "It's just a figure of speech," I say, "but yes, I always feel Him communicating with me." "Even here in Hawaii in June when everyone's running around practically naked?" "Especially here in Hawaii where His natural wonders take my breath away. Everywhere I look, I see Him." "Well, everywhere I look, I see hot men." "You're a married woman now, Justine." "Happilymarried woman," Justine adds. "But that don't mean I've gone blind. Like you say, this is a state of beautiful sights. And when it comes to beautiful men, I'm always in a state of excitement." "Overexcitement," I'd say. "Albertina," says Justine, "you've had your own excitement in that area. Why just last year, you had two mules kicking in your stall." I can't help but laugh. In some sense Justine is right. Clifford Bloom and Mario Pani had both proposed marriage. But looking out at the gorgeous orangered-pink-blue sunset from Justine's house high on a cliff in the Honolulu suburb of Kahala, all that drama feels like a lifetime ago. Clifford has moved to Dallas, and Mario understands that friendship, not marriage, is far more suitable to my lifestyle. For now I can concentrate on the sunset and the sea. For now I can soak up God's beauty. "Do you mind if I pray?" I ask Justine. "Lemme take another sip of this margarita," she replies. "That'll warm up my holy ghost." "Father God," I say, ignoring Justine's last remark and taking her hand, "we thank You for this moment. We thank You for keeping us in this moment. We thank You for Your son and the miracle of His being in our heartsHisbeingour heartsevery moment of every day. We praise You and glorify You, God, for bringing us a mighty long way. What a wonder You are! You allow us to live lives that are forever changing, forever surprising. You allow us to grow and You allow us to know You more intimately, through our triumphs and through our struggles. They all bring us closer to You, Father God--the victories, the defeats, the pain, the joythey all serve to remind us that You are our strength, our hope, our life. We see You in the sky, Father God, and we see You in the sea. We see You in each other's eyes. We see You when we close our eyes, when we sleep at night, and when we walk through the dark woods and walk on the sunlit beaches. We love how You stay with us, Father, how You whisper love in our ears, how You breathe us, bathe us in Your grace. We give You praise and we give You honor. We bow our heads and simply say, 'Thank You, thank You for this life, thank You for this moment.' In Jesus' precious name, Amen." "Girlfriend," says Justine, "you sure do know how to pray. We should package those prayers and sell 'em at the mall." My mind is still on the Lord. "You listening to me, Albertina?" Justine asks. "Baby," I say, "I hardly have a choice." Just then Justine's husband arrives. Ken Kawika is a short, handsome brown-skinned man who speaks with an island accent and indulges his wife shamelessly. He's a successful singer who performs at many of the hotels on Waikiki Beach. This is his second marriage. He's thrilled to have found someone as lively and unpredictable as Justine. Justine has found work as a merchandise manager at the local Wal-Mart, where the pace is several beats behind Los Angeles. Despite the fact that her new husband makes good money, Justine wants to remain independent. I give her credit for that. Ken is cooking an exotic pork dish he learnRitz, David is the author of 'Love Tornado', published 2008 under ISBN 9780767921671 and ISBN 0767921674.