Best Valentine Ever

“Children, you show love for others by truly helping them.” - - 1 John 3:18

Dan’s life changed forever last year when his wife Linda died from breast cancer.    Married for thirteen years, theirs was an idyllic relationship.  It had its ups and downs, but they were best friends; content to be alone, happiest just walking the dogs, or watching a Disney movie with their daughter Callie.  Linda was the most selfless, generous person Dan had ever known . . . or likely would EVER know. 

February 14^th had always been special, not that they needed a ‘Hallmark’ day to remind them of their love for each other.  But this year it reminded him how much he missed her; no gift exchange, no evening together, no heartfelt card.  

Dan dropped Callie off at his parents after school.  The six year old didn’t need to see him grieve tonight; he’d do that alone, lost in memories of love long gone.   On the drive over, she’d asked about “Val-in-times” Day.  Dan explained that it was a tradition that people send cards and flowers to those they love.  But they don't always tell who it’s from!

"Why would they keep it secret?” asked the curious child.  

Dan paused before answering.  "I guess the mystery can make it exciting.  Or maybe they don’t want to be disappointed if the person doesn’t love them back."

Back at home staring at a half-eaten frozen dinner and brooding over a glass of cheap merlot, when his cell phone startled him.

"Daddy!” shouted Callie.  “Guess what?  A Valentine card was just delivered here for you!  You’ve gotta come over right away and open it!”

He wondered who would send him a card addressed to his parent's home.  An old girlfriend trying to reconnect after his loss perhaps?

When he arrived, Dan still wasn't sure who the card was from, but he had a few suspicions.  Callie greeted him at the front door and held out a bulging envelop – ample tape holding it all together.  

He examined the package carefully.  “Happy Valentine’s Day” adorned the cover in a familiar font.  On the back were a series of multi-colored hearts with one large pink bow across the center.  Dan glanced at his mother as she smiled.

"Isn't it good you got a card, Daddy?"

"Yes, but I wonder who it’s from."  He opened it and removed a dried flower, two sea shells, and several silly bands.   What precious gifts, he thought.  The card read:

“My daddy can do anything; he’s smart as smart can be.  I love to walk and hold his hand to show he belongs to me.”   Love ???

"It must be a secret girlfriend,” Dan suggested.

"Someone who loves you very much,” added Callie.

God of eternity, bind us ever more tightly together by Your wisdom and love.  Help us to listen and look for You in ourselves, that our relationships may reflect the beauty of Your love for us.  Let Your hand always guide us.  Amen.

Angie's Dream

“If God is on our side, can anything be against us?” - - Romans 8:31

Angie, a teenager with emerald eyes and big dreams, was scared to death.  As she flipped through an old magazine, she worried - not because she fell during a cross country meet, but because the bruise wouldn’t go away.  Several tests later, the doctor explained something about tumors in muscle tissues, but they would do everything they could to help her battle the rare form of cancer she couldn’t even pronounce.  Then she waited to hear what’s next.

“We’re gonna try a new chemo regimen – the strongest available,” her Oncologist said hopefully.  “Sixty percent success rate!” 

Not bad she thought – better than the flip of a coin. 

Alone with her thoughts now, Angie closed her eyes.  All she could think about is dancing with Seth – her first true love . . . the boy who adores her.  In her mind’s eye she watches them move gracefully, holding one another close enough to feel the other’s heartbeat, a gentle breeze tickling her caramel-blond hair. 

Several weeks later, the certainty of her condition finally sets in.  She woke to a cruel surprise – a pillow full of loose hair and the stark reality that her cancer was real.  The magical prom night she had long dreamed of would now officially be ruined.  No one would want to take a girl with no hair to the Prom.   Scared to death, she talked to God:

“I have cancer. I’m afraid.  I’d ask You with all my heart to cure me.  But, if my healing isn’t in Your great plan, I trust that You’ll be with me through it all.  I trust You to give me peace, to let me live with hope, to relieve any pain, and to let me know Your presence. I trust You to bring my loved ones close to me during this illness, that we might support each other, and that Your loving hands will comfort us all.  I promise to live each day as if it were my last, and trust my eternity to You.  Amen”

As the Prom approached, all Angie could think of was her bare scalp.  She was terrified about attending the dance and being rejected by her peers.  She remembered her promise to God. 

Her date arrived and Daddy ushered him in.  How odd she thought – he’s wearing a tuxedo and a baseball cap.  When Seth removed his cap, tears flow from every eye.  Where his thick, curly hair had once been, she softly touched bare skin.  He shaved his head just for her - to ease her embarrassment, to show her how much he loved her.  He hugged her warmly, and for a moment she had no fear.  Her dream had come true.

Blessed Healer, help me to feel Your presence even more firmly in my life.  Give me courage to face anything, to endure everything with You by my side, through Christ my Lord who gives me peace.  Amen

Golfer's Gaffe

“There, but for the Grace of God, go I.” - - John Bradford 1555 AD

Roberto DeVincenzo, perhaps Argentina’s greatest golfer, having just won another tournament smiled for the cameras and ducked into the clubhouse.  His career was on fire!  Pocketing his sizeable winnings, he slipped on his Rolex and walked alone to his car.

As he exited the country club, he noticed a woman by the side of the road holding a homemade sign.  It said that her baby was seriously ill and near death.  She didn’t know how she’d pay the medical expenses. 

Her sun bleached-hair and deeply grooved complexion exposed age much older than her years.  He’d seen many panhandlers on the streets of Buenos Aires.  Most were either scammers or criminals.  Stay alert for suspicious looking people and you're less likely to be a victim, he told himself.  Safer to move on . . . but not this time. 

Glancing through the windshield he just couldn’t dismiss the woman wearing too many clothes for the weather.  DeVincenzo motioned for her to come closer.  “How ya doin’?” he asked.

“Things could be worse,” she responded humbly.  “I get by with help from strangers,” she added with hopeful eyes.  “It gets me through the tough times.”

Suddenly she’s no longer a beggar, but a mother struggling to feed her children.  There’s no bitterness for the circumstances that have forced her into this demeaning position, no resentment against those who look down upon her or deny her existence.  Her toothless smile revealed a beauty that comes only from within; one that outshined her shabby circumstances. 

DeVincenzo took out a pen and endorsed his winning check to the woman. "Make some good days for your baby," he said as he pressed the check into her hand.

Later that week while dining with friends, a PGA official approached his table.  "Some of guys told me you met a young woman after winning that tournament."  DeVincenzo nodded.

"Well," smirked the official, "I’ve got bad news.  She’s a phony; she doesn’t even have any children.  She fleeced you, my friend."

"You mean there’s no sick child?" questioned DeVincenzo.  "Well!  That’s the best news I’ve heard all week!"

He’d been swindled; it’s happened to us all.  And even though the disheveled person may not be telling the truth, it’s not our place to judge.  We only go from day to day, moment to moment, by the grace of our God.  Thank God that none of your family ever had to live such a life.  Some strangers who beg on the street may be dishonest, but they’re in a way, still in poverty - lacking integrity and needing grace.  Never let frauds keep you from giving or forgiving.  Our judgments judge us.

Jesus, if You walked the streets today, You’d certainly spend time with beggars speaking with, healing and helping them.  Today, use me and the brutality of life to bring the broken to You.  Amen

The Birds & the Bees

“You may suffer for a while, but God will make you steady, strong, and firm.” -- 1 Peter 5:10

Buzzards, bumblebees and ostriches all have wings – but that’s where their similarities end.

Buzzards are magnificent above ground: they can fly for hours without flapping their wings by soaring on warm air currents.  But . . . if you put a buzzard in a pen four feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird will remain hostage to its corral indefinitely.  The reason:  buzzards always begin their flight with a sprint of ten to twelve feet.  Without space to run, they won’t even attempt to fly.  Inflexible!

So much more than honey collectors, Bumblebees are truly fascinating insects too.  Small, yet so efficient, the bumblebee not only defies gravity by taking flight (it's not aerodynamically built for flying), it also keeps its nest cool in the summer by vibrating its wings like a ceiling fan.

But . . . if dropped into a clear container where the only exits are dark colored, the bee will fly around frantically trying to find some way out through the clear sides or bottom.  Like other insects, it searches for light (generally the sun).  It won’t attempt the darkened exit that would lead to a safe escape.  Stubborn!

The mass extinction that killed off dinosaurs probably grounded the Ostrich’s ancestors.  They favored the newly accessible ground cuisine, grew larger over time, and eventually lost their knack for flying.  Instead, they took to running!  Clever!

Their long, powerful legs can cover great distances without much effort.  Ostriches can sprint in short bursts up to 70 kilometers per hour, and can maintain a steady speed of 50 kph for up to thirty minutes.  But if they can't fly, why do they have wings? 

For one thing, ostriches extend their wings for balance when they run, especially during sudden direction changes.  Their main use though, is for courtship rituals.

We’re all a little like buzzards and bees.  We struggle with problems and frustrations, not realizing that the answer is right in front of us.  When we continue doing what we always did  . . . we’ll always get what we always got.  If only we could only learn to adapt - as did the ostrich.

Couldn’t we all be more willing to bend, before important relationships break?   Stubbornness is an unshakable resistance to change.  And given that life is all about change, stubbornness is effectively a resistance to life itself.  Inflexibility has only one helpful feature: You always know what you're going to be thinking tomorrow.  If we trust God and go with His flow, we’ll make the most of opportunities and relationships.  Adapt – as if you’ll live forever!

Lord, if I truly believed You were hearing my prayer, I wouldn’t be acting like this.  Help me to adapt like the ostrich – willing to be instructed and challenged for the better.  Open my heart to love more . . . and demand less.  Amen

Dream Weaver

“Always be joyful; never stop praying.  Whatever happens, keep thanking God.”  - - 1Thessalonians 5:16-17

Jodie stared down at her weak, dying son.  Words could never describe her sadness; Leukemia would steal all her future dreams for him.  She held Bobby’s frail little hand and asked, "Honey, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I always wanted to be a fireman!” he swiftly replied. 

Jodie smiled warmly. “That’s a nice dream honey, you’d make an excellent one," she said fighting back tears, knowing the improbability of her words.  Time was not on their side.

While Bobby rested, she went to her local fire department where she met Captain Frank.  Jodie explained Bobby’s wish and asked if it might be possible for her six-year-old son to ride around the block on a fire engine.

Frank grinned. "We can do better than that.  If you'll have him ready early Wednesday morning, we'll make him our Honorary Fire Chief for the whole day.”  He added eagerly, “Bobby can hang out at the fire hall and go with us on any fire calls!”

Three days later Captain Frank escorted Bobby from his hospital bed to the waiting Tiller (hook & ladder) truck.  His “new firefighter-friends” dressed him in full turnout gear including helmet – and not the cheap, plastic kind either.  Bobby sat on the back of the truck and helped steer it back to the fire station.  He was thrilled.

There were no fire calls that day, but Bobby got to blast the horn, slide down the fire pole (like a gazillion times), and practice using a 75-pound hose.  At day’s end, he received an official firefighter’s badge - his youthful wish fulfilled and a day he’d never forget.  Living his dream so deeply touched Bobby that he lived months beyond his doctor’s prediction.  But his condition gradually worsened until the night family members were summoned to his bedside.

Recalling the joy Bobby experienced that day as a fireman, Jodie called Captain Frank for one last favor.  Without hesitation, Frank agreed, “We'll be there in five minutes.  When you hear our sirens screaming and see the flashing lights, will you announce over the PA system that there’s no fire?  It's just the city’s finest coming to honor one of our own!”

The Tiller truck arrived within minutes, extended its ladder up to Bobby's third floor hospital window and five firefighters raced up the ladder and into Bobby's room.  They hugged him.  They told him much they admired him.  They told him how proud they were to serve with him.

Bobby gave a thumbs-up and said through a toothy grin, “Be safe . . . and thank you, Captain!”  With those words, Bobby closed his eyes one last time, having been the Make-A-Wish Foundation's very first client.

Holy Dream Weaver, I don’t ask for a faith that would move mountains.  Given enough time and dynamite, I could do that myself.  No Lord, I pray for enough faith to move me!  Amen.