On Angel's Wings

“Those who live in the shelter of the Lord will find rest in His shadow." ~Psalm 91:1

It was a day she had dreaded for weeks – the military funeral for a man she’d respected, a dear friend.  Colonel Alan McAllister had been commander of her squadron during the Gulf War.  It seemed inconceivable that a man of such vivacity could be struck down so quickly from cancer.

On one of his final days, the Colonel sat up a little taller in his hospital bed and asked Juanita for a special favor.  “Will you sing my favorite song, ‘On Eagles Wings’ at my service?”  He knew she’d sung at other military functions.

Silence lingered as he awaited her response.  A small sigh of anxiety leapt from Juanita’s throat.  She wasn’t sure she could keep her emotions in check.  Still, how could she turn down his request?

“Of course I will,” she stammered, hoping that she’d have ample time to prepare.  But today came way too soon.

For those who’ve never experienced a military funeral firsthand, it’s powerful and displays proud traditions.  A soldier is buried to a 21-gun salute followed by the haunting sound of "Taps” echoing across the cemetery.

Juanita had barely made it through without breaking down.  She wanted to cry watching the Colonel’s wife Mary clutching a folded flag.  Instead, she caught sight of a yellow butterfly fluttering above the sea of military uniforms.

Had it been there the whole time?  Juanita watched the butterfly linger over the heads of Mary and her daughters during the final prayer.  It had been such a difficult day for them, but somehow the sight of wings as beautiful as painted silk, floated on the breeze to comfort them.  She remained engrossed as its delicate wings looped through the air before winging off into the sky.

After the final prayer, Mary approached Juanita.  “Will you come over to the house later this afternoon?” she asked.  “There’s a gift that Alan insisted I give you for singing today.”

Later as they sipped tea and reminisced about the colonel’s service, Mary spoke.  “Juanita, you did an amazing job today.  “Such a blessing; and we really appreciate you.”

“To God be the glory,” Juanita responded.  “I’m so glad you were blessed.”

Mary rose from her seat and opened a drawer.

“Alan and I agreed on this special gift,” she said, handing a brightly-wrapped box to her friend.  “He gave me this same gift once and wanted you to have one too.”

Juanita pulled off the wrapping paper, opened the box, and pulled out a Swarovski crystal butterfly.  It caught her breath.

“Alan and I believe that a butterfly’s magnificent, yet short life reminds us to enjoy the present,” Mary explained.  “Its transformation, as well as our own spiritual transformation, continues well beyond death.”

Are butterflies Angels perhaps?

“He will raise you up on eagle's wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His Hand.”  On Eagle’s Wings by Michael Joncas

To Receive, Divine

“A gift is like a rare gem; any way you view it you see beauty refracted.” ~ Proverbs 17:8

Spring had arrived in the mountains.  Butterflies danced among the stunning flowers littering the meadow.  In the woods multicolored blossoms were rapidly transforming into green leaves.

Without warning however, dark clouds threatened the sky; like a predator encircling its prey.  Soon drops bigger than prairie hailstones pounded the earth as the sky roared with satisfaction.   May showers had taken the sunshine out of spring.

He drove to the local store for another week’s worth of food. After paying for his groceries, Trevor headed for the door when he heard a loud thud.

He turned and saw that an older man with a walker had fallen on the slick floor.  Trevor rushed over and helped him to his feet.  Luckily he was unhurt and thanked Trevor several times.

Trevor pushed the cart to his car.  The skies had settled but still overcast.  A sense of purity caressed the air.  A dense, earthly smell rose from the ground soothing everything with its soft embrace.

Like the weather, he’d sensed changes coming in his own life for some time now.  He smiled broadly at the thought of helping another.  Sharing love, spreading joy, and doing all he could to make the world a better place brought him closer to God.  He felt alive!

As he reached for his keys, Trevor realized that he’d locked them with his cell phone inside the car.  “Je suis tres stupide!” he mumbled to himself, kicking the tire with a few additional choice words.

“What’s wrong?” a teenage bicyclist asked as he rode up.

“Locked the keys inside my car,” Trevor said, more embarrassed than angry.

The stranger handed Trevor his cell phone.

“Even if I called my wife,” Trevor continued, “she can’t bring me her car key.  This is our only car.”

“Call your wife,” the boy suggested.  “Tell her I’m coming to get her key.”

“That’s eleven miles round trip,” Trevor replied.

“Don’t worry about it,” the boy said.  And an hour later, he returned with the key.  Trevor offered to pay the boy, but he refused.  “Let’s just say I needed the exercise,” he said before riding off.

Trevor felt awkward.  He found it much easier to offer help than to receive it.  He’d been taught from an early age that giving is better than receiving.  But receiving is an equally noble endeavor.  Maybe that was the change God had planned for this day.

When someone extends their attention and caring toward us, how deeply do we let it in?  Can we allow ourselves to be nourished by another’s act of kindness?  Receiving deeply not only nurtures us, but it also honors the giver.  It makes them feel that they made a difference in our life.

Lord, remind us that by accepting help from others, we’re joined together as family members. By allowing others to love us, we bless them as well, with the opportunity to serve, to love, and to live as Christ.  Amen

No Small Gift

“Be kind and compassionate to one another." ~ Ephesians 4:32

The summer’s heat had already become unbearable; sweat trickled down her back like warm soup.  “Gonna have to get ‘Betsy’s’ air conditioning fixed” she mumbled to herself for the third time this week.

Kassidy had been running errands all morning and was about to head home but decided to treat herself first.  Ice cream shops are always joyful places.  What could make a person happier than the sweet smell of fresh waffle cones and gallons of creamy, frozen goodness to choose from?

The Dreamery Creamery’s ice-cream freezer was stacked with all her favs – chocolate peanut butter, raspberry ripple and orange dreamsicle . . . but there were more, so many more!  As her breath fogged up the glass, a bubbly youngster caught her attention.

David’s tiny hands spread over the chilled glass like a hungry cat over a fishbowl.  If there had been three choices he’d have picked one long ago, but the array put his mind into a blissful tingle of possibilities.  There weren’t just all the flavors, but all the possible combinations.  It wouldn’t come cheap of course, but then reaching your 4^th birthday is a reason to celebrate.

"Are you sure you want to spend your birthday money on ice cream?" his mother asked.

There’s something intoxicating about an excited child.  They bounce, they giggle, they squeal (and they lack an ounce of patience).  As Danny’s grin got wider, from a distance Kassidy too started to smile.  Bursting with liquid sunshine from within, Danny eagerly nodded “YES!!”

Kassidy stood behind him as the cashier smothered a small vanilla cone with sprinkles.  She handed him the cone and he handed her his money.  He was about to turn around when the cashier told him to wait and dropped a few small coins into his hand.

The little guy looked at his change for a moment and then lifted his hand up to a St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital donation box on the counter and dropped them in it.  He turned around and met Kassidy’s eyes.  He grinned and she smiled back.  Then he walked out of the store with his Mom, happily licking his frozen desert.

After watching that little miracle of love, Kassidy’s heart felt lighter and the world seemed brighter.  It felt so good to be in a world that had such kindness in it.  She knew too that all of the angels in heaven must have been cheering when they saw that little boy’s kindness.

In the eyes of God no gift is too small; every act of love is priceless.  By simply sharing a few coins that little boy had made Earth a little more like Heaven.  May we all do the same.

Almighty Father, in today's hustle and bustle, it’s too easy to move through the day disconnected from our capacity as humans to be kind and caring.  Teach me to become fluent in kindness; compassionate to others, to the earth and to me.  Amen

Superhero

“I’ve gone to prepare a place for each of you so that we’ll be together forever." ~ John 14:2-3

Sadness filled her eyes; their emerald green too glossy.  Nancy’s voice trailed off like words unwilling to take flight.  “Cancer,” she muttered to her daughter Aspen.  “But I’m gonna fight this like the third elephant on the ramp to Noah’s ark.”

And she did … everything her doctors suggested: chemotherapy, double mastectomy, and radiation.  When it went into remission, Aspen believed the nightmare was over.

But 2 years later the cancer returned, having metastasized throughout her lymph nodes, bones, and later on to her liver.

It seemed an impossible fight, but Nancy fought harder than Aspen thought possible, meticulously researching cancer at a cellular level.  She changed her diet dramatically, going from a 'meat and potatoes' diet full of processed foods and sugar to a predominately vegan and organic diet.

She exercised with a personal trainer, becoming fit and physically strong for the first time in her adult life.  She even took up painting to help relax and relieve anxiety.  Nancy did everything she could medically, holistically, mentally, spiritually and physically to stay alive.

It was around this time that Aspen began to realize that Nancy was so much more than 'just' her Mom.  She was a Superhero – an extraordinarily brave, smart, tenacious person who wanted nothing more than to be with her family and friends as long as she could.  No one could ever inspire Aspen the way her Mom did. She wanted to live so badly; staring down death and saying, "Not yet."

The oncologist’s words would eventually splinter inside Nancy causing more pain than the cancer.  Terminal.  Hospice.  Comfort care only.  No more autumn walks in t he park or birthdays at the bowling alley.  She wouldn’t see Aspen graduate.

After acknowledging she couldn’t win the battle, Nancy showed no fear.  Her affairs were in order, her husband and children were as provided for as they could ever be (Nancy arranged an army of friends committed to raising them like loving aunts).

Nancy believed in life everlasting; one more glorious than an earthly one and that her family will join her there too someday.  She accepted that the Lord called her home before she was ready and never raged at God or asked “Why me?”  She simply adored all the beloved people who’d graced her life, and kept telling them until her voice was gone.

Aspen spoke.  "Mom, you taught me so much about living, but now you’re showing me how to die."  Nancy squeezed her hand and, amazingly, Nancy smiled broadly.  As joy filled the hospital room, no one noticed that her vital signs were dropping quickly.

Within seconds, Nancy was gone, ushered into heaven, ready to meet her Almighty Father and grateful for a life well earned.

“It's your world now, my race is run.  I'm moving on, like the setting sun.  No sad goodbyes, no tears allowed.   You'll be alright, it's your world now!” ~ Glen Frey (singer, songwriter for the Eagles, 2007)

A Mother's Devotion

“Point your kids in the right direction; when they’re old they won’t be lost." ~ Proverbs 22:6

Tommy’s education started unremarkably, like many other children of his time.  He attended school when his family’s work load permitted.  But his mind often wandered.  Having lost patience with the child one day, the teacher called the boy a dull learner in front of the class.

Angry and humiliated, Tommy told his mother.   When Nancy went to the schoolhouse to confront the teacher, a heated argument ensued after the teacher doubled down.  “Tommy is simply not teachable,” she insisted.

So at age 12, his public school career ended abruptly.  But that was far from the end of the story.

Nancy had been a school teacher in Canada and happily took over the job of educating her son.  She knew her son had quite a bit of capability from the things he was doing around the house.

Nancy encouraged her son to have both a head and hands approach to learning, allowing him to experiment in his own laboratory.  She even overcame her husband’s protests after various small explosions and odd smells erupted from their small basement.

She imbued Tommy with four life-long pillars of learning:

•  Don’t be afraid to fail.  Keep trying; learn from your mistakes.

• Read the entire span of literature, not just what you like.

• Not all learning comes from books; it’s important to work with your hands and learn from life.

• Never stop learning, always keep improving yourself.

Tommy was imaginative and inquisitive, but because much instruction was by rote and he had difficulty hearing, he was bored and therefore branded a misfit.  And additionally, by today’s standards, he would’ve been classified as dyslexic.

In later years, a mature and very successful Thomas Edison acknowledged that his mother’s discipline for a focused life was responsible for his great success.  He obviously learned differently from the standard recitation learning of his traditional one-room schoolhouse.

It was fundamentally necessary for Edison to have a visceral feel for the information he was learning, especially for a need to experiment and react to the results of those experiments.  Throughout his life Edison developed a love for literature and could quote many great poems and passages.

Can you imagine what life would be like without light bulbs or electric motors; phonographs and motion picture projectors?  Perhaps the world’s most prolific inventor, Edison acquired a record number of 1,093 patents!

But none of that would have happened had it not been for a devoted mother who refused to believe his teacher’s assessment.  Always remember, your defiant or befuddled twelve year-old might have a spark inside of them that just needs to be lit by someone who believes in them.  Who better to light the fire than YOU?

Lord, thank You for the honor of being a parent.  Give me patience and a joyful heart with the everyday innocent and not-so-innocent failings of my children.  Help me encourage them to be all that You meant them to become.  Amen

Odd Lessons

“Wait for the Lord’s help, be strong and brave." ~ Psalms 27:14

He’d have been a great a great father is he hadn’t been addicted to crack.

The first time he saw his dad smoke crack cocaine, Torii was seven years old.  But that marked the beginning of a lifelong struggle; the anguish of knowing the father he loved was a drug addict.

Torii’s childhood entailed living sans electricity and having to scavenge for food in his crime riddled neighborhood.  Poverty comes with addiction; all the family’s money went to support his dad’s habit.  Addicts don’t think about anything else – not about family, friends or career; they’ll lie, cheat and steal for a fix.

To this day Torii gets a sick feeling just thinking about the times he and his brothers lived on nothing more than a loaf of white bread, spreading ketchup or syrup between two slices to make the hunger go away.  Or the times he slept on a towel when the old bedroom mattress became too nauseating.

The boys often walked the streets, worrying about whether their dad was alive or dead, only to find him stoned out of his mind at a crack house.  They’d coax him back home, knowing all too well the humiliation, fear and chaos of living with a dead beat dad.

His father's behavior gave him the inspiration to move beyond his drug-infested ‘hood’ and build something positive out of his life.  He also found strength and hope in Jesus Christ.

Their mother’s faith kept the family together.  She pleaded with them to be better fathers than their own dad was to them.  And that's what Torii tried to do with his life.

Baseball became his safe haven – the one of the few places he could put aside thoughts of his tortured past.  Having played for the Angels, Twins, and Tigers, Torri Hunter became a five-time All-Star and won nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards.  While noted for his spectacular outfield catches, he wasn't too shabby on offense either, with 353 homers, 1,391 RBI’s and 195 stolen bases.  He retired from the Major League after 19 professional seasons in 2015.

His faith allows him to forgive his dad.  Hunter moved his father to Dallas where he now lives, so he can watch over him and try to keep him from the drug culture (a constant battle after nearly a dozen rehab stints).

Prayer helped him become a better father.  He admits to spoiling his own kids “a little.”  But he also helped with homework and held them to a strict moral standard.  Because he didn’t have that growing up.  Ironically, his dad taught him valuable lessons without ever knowing it.

Father of us all, thank you for my Dad.  Through the marvel of Your creation, my parents gave me the gift of life itself.  He continues to be a great teacher and mentor, such a wonderful example of how to live a life of faith.  I am blessed.  Amen