Ayaan's Friend

“Don’t be troubled. I’ll take you with me, so that you can be where I am." ~ John 14: 1,3

At age seven, Ayaan radiated childhood innocence, still believing in Santa, cartoon characters, and imaginary friends.  Each day on the way to school, he dodged the perils of Garfield Park, one of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods, by stopping at church to say his daily prayers.

One morning out of curiosity, Father Gupta hid near the altar to hear what Ayaan had to say.

"Hi Jesus,” the boy began.  “Dad lost his job again so there isn’t much food at home.  I ate some bread and drank my water.  Thank you for this!  I saw a hungry kitten and I know how he feels so I gave him some of my bread.  Funny, but I’m not hungry anymore.

Please don't be mad at Dad, he’s just scared and worries about putting food on our table.  That’s why he hits me.  It hurts but the pain will go away soon.  At least I still have a Dad. 

My shoes are almost worn through.  Some kids do bad things for fancy ‘Kicks’, but I know You don’t like that.  They should last until school’s out - then I can go barefoot this summer.

Oh yeh, I think I’m in love.  There’s a pretty girl in my class – do you think you can put in a good word for me?  If not that’s OK.  I know You will always love me; You’re my best friend.  Oooops, I gotta go . . ."

Later that day, a small group of thugs robbed and beat the small child to death.  At the funeral home, Pastor Gupta listened as grieving parents described their child – so loving, curious, carefree.

“Do you know the man who just left,” asked Ayaan’s Dad.  “We don’t know him but he seemed to know Ayaan well, claiming they talked frequently at your church.”

The Priest looked confused, “What’d he look like?”

“He was tall, dressed in a white shirt and slacks,” the father began.  “There was something soothing yet mysterious about him.  He smiled warmly and kissed my boy’s lifeless forehead.  Then he whispered “Don’t be afraid child, I’ll see you soon.”

“I can’t explain it, but when that man left, a gentle calm washed over me.  I felt a deep sense of joy in my heart, I know my boy is in heaven now.  It felt so wonderful . . . I cried,” the father continued. 

“Tell me Father, who was this man that my son talked to everyday in your church?"

Father Gupta felt the tears welling in his eyes, with trembling knees, he murmured, "He was talking to his best friend - Jesus.  He couldn’t be in better hands now.”

Heavenly Father, You understand grief as you know all.  We lift up all grieving parents.  Fill them with Your peace.  Give them the knowledge and faith to endure even that which they can't understand.  Your Love is Life that can never taken from us.  Amen

The Chaos of Maturity

“Don’t worry about tomorrow.  God will provide all that you need." ~ Matthew 6:33-34

Fight the traffic, prepare dinner, pay the bills - Amanda had more to do in life than there were hours left to do them.  Her financial situation weighed heavily on her mind.  She’d recently lost her job and money was tight.  The load of it all threatened to crush her.

She tried to fall asleep, but sleep just wouldn’t come.  And when it did, it came in the form of unsettling dreams.  In one, she had to rescue the infant she’d locked inside a hot vehicle.  In tonight’s nightmare, she’d inadvertently let the baby slip under water as she bathed him.

Amanda got up and tiptoed to the edge of the nursery where sweet Baby Colby slept.  The innocent child didn’t feel any of the pressure she did.  He didn’t know what tomorrow held - he just knew his Mommy would take care of him.

Amanda laughed as she tried to picture how worried Baby Colby would be if he realized that he couldn’t possibly get all that he needed for himself.  Babies can’t dress themselves or fix their own breakfast.  They have no worries.

They’re never bothered by the troubles around them . . . except for hunger occasionally.  No matter the situation, he knows his Mommy will always find a way to provide for him.  He doesn’t need to understand how – it’s enough to know his Mommy would do anything to keep him warm, safe and healthy.

Parents worry themselves to death on how to provide for the family while the children are busy naming the plethora of gifts they want for Christmas.  Babies are the most content human beings on the planet.  Even in countries experiencing savage war and vicious crime, infants like Colby rely on their parents to censor the brutality.

Amanda reached down and scooped her precious baby from the crib, cuddling him in a loving embrace.  Babies are God’s blessing on this earth, she thought.  It’s the craziest thing that something so small, so helpless, so dependent could become the sunshine that brightens your entire life; the reason that makes your life meaningful.

Oh to be a child again – to dance with delight, free from worries, knowing that we’re protected from evil and pain!

And as she looked deeply into young Colby’s adoring eyes, her ‘train’ of thought took a thoughtful detour.  Didn’t she have a Heavenly Father caring for her too?  A smile suddenly brightened her spirit, and the day’s stress escaped from her body.   She could curl up and rest, even without answers, just like Baby Colby, confident that her Almighty Father had everything under control.

Heavenly Father, You invite me to turn my worry over to You and You will settle my restless mind with Your peace.  Instead of worrying, help me to replace my thoughts with what I know is true: You love me; You have a plan for my future; You will supply all our needs.  Thank you!  Amen

You Be the Judge

“Remember, from dust you came and to dust you will return.”  ~ Genesis 3:19

Dr. Mary Grace rushed into the hospital after being called for an emergency surgery.  She changed into scrubs and went directly to the waiting area where she met the patient’s father pacing nervously in the hallway.  Introducing herself with a kind but confident voice, she extended her hand.

He refused to shake it.  Hadn’t he demanded a male orthopedic surgeon?  What kind of hospital was this anyway, he wondered.

Mary had experienced this type of discrimination before – but mostly from male colleagues.  People used to believe it required physical force to maneuver fractured bones or dislocated joints.   That may have been true decades ago, but advances in modern equipment have shifted the primary requisites from brute strength to deft hands, single-pointed focus, and an aptitude in 3-D imaging. She remained calm.

“Why’d it take you so long to get here,” the dad barked shamelessly.  Didn’t you know my son’s life was in danger?  Don’t you have any sense of urgency?”

Mary smiled. “I’m sorry; I wasn’t in the hospital but came immediately.  Please calm down; I’ll need your permission to begin.”

“Calm down?  Would you be calm if that was your son?  Is he going to be paralyzed forever?” questioned the father angrily. 

Mary smiled again and replied: “The Holy Bible reminds me that ‘From dust we came and to dust we’ll return one day!”  She continued, “Doctors can’t prolong lives, only God can.  We’ll do our very best . . . by His grace.”

“It must be so easy to offer advice when you’re not involved.” murmured the father.  Undeterred, she entered the OR and went to work.  Spinal cord injuries can be so delicate.

After several hours of surgery, Dr. Grace emerged from the operating room with a weary smile.  “By the grace of God, your son’s doing fine.  If you have any question, ask the nurse.”  Then without waiting for the father’s reply, she turned and left immediately.

“What a jerk,” he said to no one in particular.  When the nurse approached, he asked cynically “Couldn’t she have waited another two minutes so that I could ask about my son’s recovery?”

The nurse answered, tears freckling her cheeks: “Her son died yesterday in an auto accident.  She was making funeral arrangements when we called her for your son’s surgery.  Sir, we’re human too!  We try desperate to extend life – and we often have to forget about our own.  What questions do you have now?”

It’s easy to point an accusatory finger at this father reminding him never to jump to conclusions about others for you never know what they’re going through.  But isn’t it just as wrong to judge the father?  Our first impressions are seldom the final ones.

Lord, when we judge others, we put ourselves in Your place, taking the authority reserved only for You.  We forget that other people are fighting their own inner battles and sometimes that conflict shows itself in irritating actions.  Help me be more compassionate and forgiving.  Amen

Star Spangled Hero

“God, our fortress and strength, is always ready to help in times of trouble." ~ Psalm 46

The War of 1812 had raged for two years when a 35-year-old Georgetown lawyer was summoned by U.S. officials to help negotiate for the release of an elderly medical doctor captured by British troops.  Though rudely received, the lawyer carried with him documents which described the care with which the imprisoned doctor had treated injured British soldiers.

The British reluctantly agreed to release Dr. Beanes, but worried that he’d gained valuable intelligence about British plans for attacking Baltimore, America’s third largest city.   So they detained both men aboard a British-controlled ship while finalizing battle plans.

On September 13, 1814, an armada of British warships began firing cannons and rockets on Fort McHenry, the fortress protecting Baltimore’s harbor.  Helpless to provide any warning, the Americans were forced to watch the battle from behind enemy lines, a strange paradox. 

It was a ‘perilous’ fight, one which continued all day and throughout the night.  Resembling a massive fireworks display, rockets cast a ‘red glare’ as enemy forces pounded Ft. Henry with ‘bombs bursting in air.’  American troops were pinned like sitting ducks; their cannons couldn’t reach British ships.  

During the night, a bomb landed in the Fort’s munitions magazine, which stored hundreds of wooden gunpowder barrels.  By the grace of God, it was a dud.

The air grew strangely quiet as the ‘dawn’s early light’ broke the next morning.  A haze of smoke and fog prevented the lawyer from seeing whose flag now flew over Ft. Henry.  But as the mist cleared momentarily over the ramparts, he spotted a badly tilted flagpole hoisting a shredded flag.  It boasted broad stripes and spangled stars.

So thrilled, the lawyer immediately pulled an unfinished letter from his pocket and began writing a poem.  Miraculously defeated, the British released their prisoners.  The lawyer, Francis Scott Key, returned to Baltimore where he finished his famous poem about the “Star Spangled Banner . . . forever waving “O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Key was a man of great faith. He believed that America was a heaven-rescued land and that we should "praise the Power that had made and preserved our nation.  Then conquer we must when our cause is just, and this be our motto, IN GOD IS OUR TRUST." 

In 1956, 142 years after he wrote those lines, "IN GOD WE TRUST" officially became our nation’s motto.  Key went on lead the American Bible Society, knowing that we’d remain the ‘land of the free’ only by following Biblical principles.  He made it his life’s work to get the Word of God into the hands and hearts of as many Americans as possible.

 

Lord Almighty, as believers in Christ we’re reminded that you, Lord are our rock, our fortress, our refuge, our place of safety, and no matter what kind of bombs or fiery darts the enemy hurls at us, You protect us and keep us safe (Psalm 46).  Amen