Gleanings…

Imagine you have just come home from being away.  Tired, you pick up the mail, let yourself into your home, and flip on the lights.  Settling into a chair to look at the mail, you notice that one envelope is not a bill and not an advertisement, and it feels thicker than most letters.  Addressed to you in a personal hand, there is no return address.  Opening the letter, a number of pages fall out.  Picking them up you read,

My Dearest Child,

I have wanted to write you for so long.  I have watched you as you have dealt with challenges and trials, struggled with making a way in this world, and been battered by events you could not have foreseen or avoided.  I am proud of the way you have persevered.  Though it has not been easy, and many times you have felt like giving up, you did not and chose instead to try again.

You look at the other pages and you see a narrative of your life.  Moments and events you never thought anyone would ever know about, interspersed with notations of help given.  Amazed, you find that the times where something went well, things worked out, and you actually caught a break are the times when the author indicates that you were reassured, consoled, comforted, and given a bit of rest by the love and care of others.

Astounded at the amount of detail, you turn back to the letter.  After a couple of paragraphs of encouragement, the author writes,

Please know that I will always be with you.  I am always available to talk; call anytime.

Father

P.S.  I love you.  -F-

Sounds a little fanciful, but the truth is that our Father does indeed watch over us and help us in ways that seem more accidental than intentional.  Few, if any, of us live lives that are free of trials, disappointments, and brokenness.  Yet, we live on because we know the source of our strength.

As we look to be renewed with lives filled with the joy of resurrection, take some time to look around at your family, friends, and neighbors.  Who is struggling?  Who needs a word of encouragement?  Who just needs a break from the daily grind?  Can you reach out to build a relationship that allows you to share God’s love with them?  We need each other more than we like to admit.  May God lead you to where someone who needs to know his love can experience it through you.

Christ is risen!  Christ is risen, indeed!

Braxton  ><>