[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Monday, June 9, 2014

[Paul]

Hello and good day to you all.  As I write this it's midafternoon here in eastern North America, but I realize it might be evening or morning where you live.  At any rate I hope that this message finds you well, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.

I realize that this message is going to people in other nations, but here in the United States June 15 is celebrated as Father's Day, just as the second Sunday in May is for our mothers.  Mary Smith of Richmond VA brings to us a short but tender reminiscence about her father which I'd like to share with you today, and perhaps I did so last year, but can't remember.  Her piece is entitled "He Makes Winds His Messengers" and is rendered as follows:

Sun-baked apples dangled from the tree outside my window.  Bumblebees buzzed from flower to flower.  The apples' sweet fragrance drifted inside my room on a breeze.

Daddy, I thought, suddenly caught up in a childhood memory.  My father used to read to me, cuddeled together on a soft blanket under an apple tree in our yard.  One faraway afternoon, Daddy stopped in the middle of a paragraph and put the book down.  He pulled me into his arms.  "Years from now," he said, "when you feel the wind on your face, imagine it's the angels coming with a hug from me." I could never have known then that Daddy was already dying of heart disease.

The breeze swept in through the window, rustling the curtains, caressing my face.  My father had been dead for over forty years, but I remembered his playful words.  Closing my eyes, I pictured God's angels dancing around the room as they reached out to embrace me.  Next, the breeze circled my room, then changed its course to head out the window and leave me with my precious memory.

I bowed my head and prayed.  "Thank You, God, for the gifts of love, and for all the angels who deliver them unexpectedly." And thank you, Daddy, for the hug!

And there you have Mary's article.  It was short, I know, but does an article have to be long and ponderous to be a blessing to someone? Of course not.

And now for those who just might be curious about how the weekly Bible game went at my local senior citizens' center this morning, it went off great.  I appreciated the fact that one person here wished that she could have been there, but because of distance and other reasons that was not to be.  Thanks for any prayers sent up for the Lord's leading in this venture.

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