yes, Albertie, you are being sought out – at least by Alice.  How do I know this?  Alice has left numerous messages on my voicemail over the last few days, seeking you – not realizing of course that I am not you.  Actually, no one else is you.  You are one of a kind, Albertie, I’m sure of it.

Even your name is unique.  Is it short for Alberta?  Were you born in Canada?  It sounds to me like you and Alice have been fast friends for a very long time.  Judging by the voice on my voicemail, I am imagining you two have lived a lot of life and have had more than your share of adventures, together and separately.

But more than that, the voice I hear on my voicemail leaving messages for you, sounds so full of life and mischief and fun, sounds like she has so much life left to live – that my imagination has been captured by the two of you.  And what’s the story with these flowers?  At the moment that is the reason for Alice’s urgency in reaching you – she has flowers for you and she wants to drop them off.  But you are not returning her calls.

I guess that’s my fault.  OK, I know that’s my fault.  So I have left Alice a voicemail letting her know that I am not you, (as if anyone else ever could be) and that you have not been receiving her messages.  I am feeling Alice’s panic and pain when she said in her last voicemail to you/me that she felt you had vanished off the face of the earth because she has not heard back from you.

By the way Albertie, Alice is leaving your flowers on her back porch in case you come by when she’s not at home.  She does have a doctor’s appointment today and doesn’t know when she’ll be back.  These flowers are quite the mystery to me but they must be very important as Alice is determined to get them to you one way or another.  She has offered numerous times to drop them by but she needs to know when you’ll  be home.

I am now caught up in this mystery, wondering about the two of you.  Why doesn’t Alice have your correct phone number?  Have you moved recently, Albertie?  Are the flowers from a suitor?  I’m thinking not.  It actually sounds like they might be from a funeral  you two attended in these last few days.  Who did you lose, Albertie?  It sounds like Alice is here for you.

What a gift a fast friend is!  I can hear the caring and concern in Alice’s voice in each voicemail left on my phone for you, her dear Albertie.  My heart broke at the sadness in Alice’s voice in her last message when she said it was like you had disappeared from the face of the earth.  I get that.  Everyone wants, needs and deserves a proper goodbye when the time comes.

But the time for you two dear ladies has not yet come.  I imagine you two taking tea and traveling the world together, playing cards and planting flowers.  And so I left Alice a voicemail of my own, setting the record straight, letting her know that I was not you and that you had not been receiving her recent messages.

Still, I am going to miss hearing Alice’s voice when today there are no more messages from her on my phone.  And I am left hanging.  Did you get the flowers yet?  Has Alice realized she’s been calling the wrong number and corrected her mistake?  Did she get my voicemail?

Or does Alice still wonder about your whereabouts, Albertie?  Does she think you’ve abandoned her, or perhaps fallen ill or come down with amnesia or been kidnapped?  Our imaginations do tend to run wild in the absence of concrete information.  So  . . .

Alice, I just may have to give you a call soon – for my own peace of mind, mind you.  I have to know that you and Albertie are back together again and on to your next adventure.

Actually, that’s a story I’d like to write – “The Adventures of Alice and Albertie”.   In the meantime I just want to know that you figured out the correct phone number and had an actual conversation with one another.  Friendship is always sweeter face to face – no matter what Facebook would have us believe.  But I suspect you already know that.

So, I’ll be calling you ’cause truly I just want to hear your voice again –  your voice that has drawn me into your story, your voice which carries within it all the elements of a life you are living well, the warmth, the humor, the caring, the persistence, the character of you – they all come through loud and clear on the voicemails I have received by accident.

But there are no accidents with a Sovereign God, just everyday miracles amid the mundane.  Be talking to you soon, Alice – and you can tell Albertie “hi” from me.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down; his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”   (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

sincerely,       Grace Day