[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Tuesday, February 11, 2014

[Paul]

Hello and good day to you all, whether that time of day be morning, afternoon or evening.  I hope that you all are doing well today.

Before I give you today's article, here is the answer to the Bible poem from Sunday.  It was Song of Solomon, chapter 3.

Neither the author's name nor the original publication from which it originally appeared in print is not given, but I hope that the following article will be a blessing to you.  It is entitled "Love Letter From Heaven" and is rendered as follows:

Several years ago my husband, George, died of complications following an automobile accident.  Ours had been a long, happy marriage, and his death left me deeply depressed.  This Valentine's Day, instead of being grateful for all the wonderful years we'd shared, I became engulfed in self-pity.  Often I prayed, "Lord, why didn't You take me first?"

When I broke my leg a few weeks before my ninetieth birthday, I felt more confined and alone than ever.  "If only George was here," I despaired, "he would chase away the sadness with words of wisdom and encouragement."

On this particularly blue day, I decided to call a friend and ask her to visit.  Unfortunately, she was leaving on a trip and couldn't come.

I understood.  But as I hung up the phone, tears started to flow.  I moved to the window to sit in my favorite chair with Duke, my beloved cat, curled up in my lap.  "Dear God," I prayed, weeping, "please give me the strength to get through this hour."

Get your Bible, a quiet voice inside me nudged.  But my Bible was in the bedroom, and with my leg in a cast, it would be too hard to retrieve.  Then I remembered my small travel Bible.  Hadn't I seen it on the living room bookshelf? I found it and opened it, surprised to discover that it was George's old travel Bible instead of mine.  They looked alike, and I thought I'd given his Bible away.

I turned the pages until I reached my favorite Scripture.  Suddenly, a letter fell onto my lap.  Carefully, I unfolded the yellowed pages.  It was a love letter from George.  In it, he expressed his deep affection for me.  His words of comfort went straight to my lonely heart.

My cheeks wet with tears, I continued to leaf through the Bible.  In the back pages, I found more notes from George.  According to the date, he'd written these in the hospital prior to an early surgery.  He must have feared that he would not return home.  After he recovered from the surgery, the letter and notes were forgotten.

But no, I realized.  They were never forgotten.  God knew exactly where George's words of comfort were hidden and exactly when I'd need them the most.  Laughing some and crying some, I spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the company of both my husband's letters and my Lord.  I never felt less alone, and now I knew for certain that I never would be.

And there you have it for today.  For those of you ladies who have lost a dear life partner, especially if it had been a long and happy marriage, I pray that this unknown woman author ministered to your hearts, minds and spirits today.  Tomorrow, in honor of Lincoln's birthday (Yes, we aren't politically correct here.), there will be a special presentation on a little-known fact of Lincoln's Christian life.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, tomorrow there will be another Daily Thought message for you.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul