Thursday, April 25, 2019

Payment in 'Kind"

“Don’t do good only to those who treat you well." ~ Luke 6:33
The Thrift Shoppe was a treasure trove to Hannah.  Her eyes lit up as she entered it, greeting the volunteers like old friends.  After exchanging news with each of them her quest began.  She’d search every rack and shelf, not for herself, but with her entire extended family in mind.  She believed that clothes didn’t necessarily lose their value just because they were pre-loved.
Today she spotted a nearly-new dress that she knew her granddaughter would love.  She giggled with anticipation as she added it to her basket.  Five minutes with her sewing machine and you'd never recognize it.
Shopping for others gave her great joy.  But money was tight, so Hannah asked the store owner if he’d hold it for her until the beginning of next month.
“May I buy that dress for you?” asked the customer waiting in line directly behind her.
“Thank you, but I can’t accept such a gracious gift,” Hannah replied.
Then the total stranger explained why it was so important for her to help.
“I found myself homeless and vulnerable at 15,” she began, “when my mother died from a heroin overdose.  I slept in shelters when possible, but mostly on park benches, under bridges, and even on church steps.
One day as I sat on the frozen ground, thinking and dreaming, a group of teenagers walked by.  I watched as their eyes avoided mine.  They all walked on, chatting and laughing … all, except for one of the girls.
Bending down, she removed her jacket and handed it to me, saying “Here, you must be cold.”  Then she pulled out a twenty dollar bill from her wallet and a chocolate chip cookie from her pocket.  Handing both to me, she smiled; not a patronizing smile, but a warm, engaging one.  After she left, her warmth remained with me to this day.
“I’m no longer homeless; my situation has improved,” she continued.  “But I promised myself that I’d repay the kindness she’d shown me – as often as possible, in as many ways as possible, to as many people as possible, for the rest of my life.”
She paid for the dress.  The only payment she accepted in return was a heartfelt hug.
‘Paying it forward’ is an expression for repaying a good deed forward to others instead of back to the original benefactor.  It encourages us to reflect on the good that God has done in our lives and to pass it on to others.  Encouraging those we help to ‘pay it forward’ multiplies its goodness.
We never know what somebody‘s going through.  Sometimes all it takes to change their life’s trajectory is a kind gesture - taking one extra second to do something positive without expectancy.
Lord, help me “do all the good I can, by all the means I can, in all the ways I can, in all the places I can, at all the times I can, to all the people I can, as long as ever I can.” ~ John Wesley

Monday, April 22, 2019

One More Day

“Let love guide your life." ~ Colossians 3:14
As far as I’m concerned, few things are as adorable as sweet old couples.  How many times have you cracked a smile at a pair of cute old-timers holding hands in public?  If you’re like me, seeing love endure the test of time is not only heart-warming, it’s inspirational.
It makes me want to work that much harder on my own relationship so that my other half and I can one day rock matching canes too!  Old couples in love remind us that anything’s possible if you try hard enough.
Three times a week, my favorite octogenarians came to the pharmacy where I work to pick up their medications.  We all knew them by name.
Larry usually initiated our conversations and handled the transactions.  There was a gentle kindness in his smile.  He struck me as a person who lived how he believed others should, as if he were sunshine that radiated from only the best aspects of those he met, their flaws invisible to him.
Betty always seemed as happy as a clam at high tide.  She stood close by his side, paying careful attention to the things he said, but rarely entered the exchange herself.  Just being near him seemed to provide a serenity she couldn’t know without him near.
Never a day passed when they weren't together.  That’s why is seemed odd last week when Larry walked up to the counter by himself.
"How are you doing today, Larry?" I asked.
He told me he couldn’t be better, which was his usual reply.  I didn’t give it a second thought.
“I have 6 medications ready: 3 for you and 3 for Betty.”
He went sadly quiet … before saying, "My wife passed last night.”  Then through muffled tears: “I'm here to return the ones she wasn’t able to use."
My heart broke a little!  “I’m so sorry,” I muttered.
“Thank you,” he replied humbly.  “It was hard waking up to an empty side of the bed.  She was my wife and best friend.  Ours’s wasn’t a matter of counting the years, but making all our years count."
“I almost hate to admit, but I prayed to God that I’d live one day more than my wife.  You see Betty’s had dementia for over 20 years.  Nothing frightened me more than the thought of Betty confined to a nursing home alone.”
Larry never visited the pharmacy again.  He passed in his sleep 4 days later … just as he’d hoped; his many prayers answered.
Experts have suggested profound grief as one reason for close-coupled deaths among spouses.  I want to believe that in their case, Larry’s and Betty’s souls were so closely intertwined that they couldn’t be separated by death - a testament to the power of their love.
Lord, bless us with a sweetness of speech, a desire to work through struggles and stick to it when we’re tempted to flee, the discipline to quickly forgive and to ask for forgiveness, and a growing thankfulness for one another.  Amen

Thursday, April 11, 2019

A Devoted Mother

“Children are a gift from God; His generous legacy." ~ Psalm 127:3
The moment Holly first held Casey she fell in love.  Her newborn baby smile was as sweet as a summer strawberry and filled her with a sunshine she never knew existed.
Brand new eyes peered back at a strange world after life in the womb.  Her legs kicked in a tiny jerky motion, looking for familiar resistance but finding nothing but air.
Motherhood was something Holly knew she was destined for, and those first few weeks with Casey were the best weeks of her life.  She treasured getting to know Casey and was looking forward to spending the next few months of her maternity leave together … until tragedy struck.
What started out as a strange tingling sensation progressed rapidly into severe neck pain.  Within hours, she was completely paralyzed, unable to breathe independently.
Doctors diagnosed Guillain-Barre syndrome – a potentially fatal condition where the body's own immune system attacks the nervous system.  Holly was placed on life support in the ICU.
Six weeks passed with little improvement.  Unable to talk due to a tube in her throat, she used a letter board to communicate with her family.  Depression washed in like an uninvited wave, knocking her sandcastles flat.
Casey became the brightest star in her universe.  Nurses regularly placed the infant so that the new Mom could feel close to her baby.  That tiny voice kept urging Holly to look beyond the darkness to the radiance of hope; and a promise that smiling and laughter were just around the corner.
Slowly and almost imperceptivity, Holly started moving again.  Doctors gradually increased the time she was off the ventilator until her lungs were strong enough to breathe freely.  Eventually she moved to a stroke ward to strengthen her arm muscles and fine motor skills with the goal of holding Casey again for the first time in 3 months.
And when that day finally arrived, she felt joy like never before … deeper … more intense.  Holding her baby again was akin to a spine-tingling symphony.
After 126 days in the hospital, Holly finally returned home, with a new appreciation for all the things that she could do again.  Especially a return to motherhood a devotion that shouts: “I’d rather live on my knees than die on my feet because my baby needs their mother alive.”
A mother's love for her children is no ordinary kind.  That’s the kind of love that God has for every single one of us.  His love gives us the absolute assurance that we’re never alone.  God’s love for us is unfailing and eternal.  The more we become rooted in God’s love, the more we will become happy, fruitful and fulfilled.
Dear God, thank You for the gift of this child to raise, this life to share, this mind to help mold, this body to nurture, and this spirit to enrich.  Help me, dear God, to help this precious child become all You mean them to be.  Amen

Friday, April 5, 2019

Listen From the Heart

“Answering before listening is both stupid and rude." ~ Proverbs 18:13
Meghna passed away yesterday.  Her age and the details of her death aren’t important; she’d prefer you know how she lived.
You would’ve liked her, most people did.  People often described Meghna as “charismatic” and “articulate,” adjectives often reserved for great leaders and eloquent speakers.  She had a special gift – but not the one most often credited to her.
It didn’t matter who you were.  Meghna always had a way of relating to you because, in a way, she’d been there with you all along.   She could think like you, so she understood you.  And all because she sought to understand your message – not just heard the words you spoke.  After spending even a brief period of time with her, you’d catch yourself smiling and thinking about how the world needs more people like her.
She told stories - lots of stories that contained beautiful, subtle insights and wisdom.  Here’s one of the last she told me before she died.
Many years ago I got invited to a friend’s party for her coworkers.  Not knowing a single attendee, my anxiety swelled as the party drew near.  I was in-between jobs at the time and had little to impress these aspiring business leaders.
Instead of trying to impress anyone, I decided to spend the evening simply listening to them and summarizing what they’d just said.  That night I listened carefully to everyone, responding with phrases like, “I understand what you’re saying, you feel strongly that. . .” and “Interesting, let me see if I understand what you mean …”  I avoided expressing my own opinions, even though at times it meant biting my tongue to keep from doing so.
I discovered that no one noticed or mentioned the fact that I was just listening.  Each person seemed content to talk without interruption.  After the guests left, my friend (the party’s host) told me that a number of people had made a point of telling her what a remarkable person I was.  Words like “magnetic, articulate, empathetic” were used to describe me even though I was a perfect stranger who rarely spoke.
Meghna’s final story continues to make me think … seldom do we stop just to witness, to observe, to comprehend.  Yet the power of everyday interactions is much greater than we suspect.  We have the power to offer profound healing, comfort, and affirmation, or to create deep wounds.  And all of this depends on one crucial skill: listening.
Could it be that charisma and brilliance have as much to do with how we listen as what we say? Imagine a world where people actually listen to one another, rather than just waiting for the other people to stop talking so they can offer their opinion.
Father God, help me become a much more engaged, attentive listener.  Help me hear what people are meaning to say, not what interpretation I place on their words.  Help me to listen with my heart, not just with my ears.  Amen

Monday, April 1, 2019

When Losing Becomes Winning

“The last shall be first, and the first, last.” ~ Matthew 20:16
As baseball fanatics, we celebrate game-winning plays.  But read this story to the very end.
On the last game of our season, we played under a bright sun on a cloudless, picturesque day.  A lazy breeze wafted out towards center field.
Our Cardinals hadn’t won all season.  We were down to our last out in the last inning of our last game.  But we trailed by only one run.
We had a few excellent players, but Andy just quite couldn't get the hang of the game.  When the umpire yelled, "Batter up!" Andy nearly jumped out of his skin.  Painfully shy, the eight-year old hadn’t hit the ball all season (or catch it for that matter).
With two outs, it was his turn to bat.
Andy swallowed the lump in his throat and looked out at the mound.  The pitcher, who seemed to be several feet taller than him, stood impatiently on the mound with a gloved hand on his hip.
A roar came from about a dozen parents watching from camp chairs when Andy popped a bloop-single that barely cleared the second baseman's reach and landed in short right field.  Safe at first base, he grinned like a possum with a sweet potato as his Dad waved from the stands.
Our next batter was the team’s best slugger.  We fully expected him to blast something deep; maybe even clear the outfield fence.  Finally, we might even win a game.
He didn't let us down.  After taking two inside pitches, he connected a line shot headed towards right field.  With a good jump off first base, Andy saw the ball coming toward him.  In a moment of indecision, he caught it barehanded.
“If a runner intentionally touches a live ball, interference is called, the ball is dead and the runner's out.”  Rule 5.06(c)(6)
Final out.  Game over.  We lost!
Andy clutched the ball, beaming like never before.  It never occurred to him that he lost the game for us.  All he knew was he’d hit the ball and caught it - both for the first time.
Quickly, Coach told us to cheer.
As was customary whether we won or lost, Coach treated us to ice cream after the game.  We gathered as a team for the final time.  What I saw would forever tickle my heart.
There stood Andy, surrounded by our teammates, acting out his big hit with such enthusiasm that I imagined it must’ve been someone else.  Gone was the shy, scared 8-year old … at least for now.
We never told him exactly what happened.  We didn't want to ruin it for him.  Sometimes it’s better to lose and do the right thing.
Lord, make me truthful, honest, and honorable in all things.  Show me the ability to be charitable, forgiving, and patient with others.  Help me to accept and appreciate their shortcomings, even as they understand mine.  Amen