Is there a Mrs. Green in your life?

In Call of the Desert: Crossing, twelve-year-old Claire has to muster her courage to even get close enough to meet Mrs. Green because a desert dog guards Mrs. Green’s porch (everyone knows desert dogs can be dangerous). And, of course, there’s the tendency of Mrs. Green’s villa to sometimes shimmer and turn into something else, possibly somewhere else. But Claire does get close enough, and Mrs. Green invites her in for tea and snickerdoodles.

And Claire’s life changes.

Because Mrs. Green’s hospitality isn’t just tea and small talk. It opens up a space where Claire feels safe enough to tell the truth. Safe enough to think about uncomfortable things. And Mrs. Green’s respectful yet matter-of-fact approach to what is clearly magical oversets Claire’s notions of what is real. And important. The encounter jumpstarts Claire’s quest to learn her true identity.

Have you ever met a Mrs. Green? Someone who invited you into a space where you felt safe and not judged? Where you felt brave enough to look around inside you, because you knew that no matter what you discovered, your Mrs. Green wouldn’t flinch or turn away, but would hold you and your discovery tenderly. Where you were encouraged to find and honor the truth of who you are.

I met my Mrs. Green when I was in graduate school. Unchurched, unbaptized, ignorant but hungry, I had just mustered my courage to approach an Episcopal church. And Edith Moore—my Mrs. Green—invited me in.

Is there a Mrs. Green in your life? Have you ever been a Mrs. Green to someone else?