Kissed by the Spirit

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

Mark 1:35 (NIV)

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

Luke 6:12 (NIV)

Jesus could be found in the temple, every day, teaching and preaching, since the temple was a place He loved since childhood. People hung on His every word, as He poured Himself out, in crowd after crowd, healing, teaching and preaching. 

At first, we might get the impression that Jesus spent every moment of every day, with people, but He didn’t. More than one gospel tells us that He went away alone to pray early in the morning and later in the evening. Luke refers to the Mount of Olives as the customary spot that Jesus withdrew to, in prayer.  (Luke 22:39)

Some Bible versions call it His ‘usual place’ of prayer. We know that He withdrew from people to spiritually refresh Himself and spend time with His Father, in His customary place, which was the Mount of Olives. 

If anyone has ever visited the Mount of Olives in Israel, it is a known fact that some of the trees are at least 2,000 years old. To touch one of those trees that Jesus most likely touched and prayed near, is an awesome feeling. To think that when God became flesh, He touched the same trees, that are still standing in the Mount of Olives today. 

We might also have a custom place to withdraw to alone in prayer. It’s a place that contains the elements of whatever helps us reconnect with God each day. For some, it might be a place that has particular scenery, that inspires us to give our full attention to the Lord. Some people are inspired by being near water or the view of mountains, or the sights and scents of a beautiful garden.

I get inspired by artwork and certain portraits of Jesus, since I have done portraits in my past, at outdoor festivals in Chicago and the suburbs. It’s because of my love of visual arts, that led me to find illustrations from the internet and attach them to each meditation. 

While silence and quiet meditation is important for every believer, there are many sights, sounds or scents that can also help us to spiritually focus. God gave us the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, to use as we reconnect with Him every day. So whether we are inspired by looking at artwork or a body of water, listening to music or smelling the scents in a garden, our senses have the potential to deepen our connection with God. 

Besides the visual arts, music also inspires me, and since the sense of hearing is the last sense to go, I intend to use mine fully. That led me to compose a playlist on my phone, of my favorite faith inspiring songs, and name it my “Coma playlist”, which I want to have played if I’m ever in a coma. People laugh when I tell them about my Coma playlist, but I know from patients who did wake up from a coma, that they have recall of things they heard while comatose. I figure that listening to my Coma playlist will be an inspiring way to either enter the next life or wake up again in this one. 

Whatever stress we are going through, if we regularly retreat to our usual and customary place, using the gift of our senses to open our heart, we will connect our spirit with the Spirit of the Lord in a deeper way. 

There’s a time to withdraw from everything and everyone, and retreat to our ‘prayer closet’, as Jesus called it. The intimate time spent with our Father in Heaven is not only a place where we talk to Him, but where we can tune in to His gentle whisper which is always speaking within us. 

Lord, thank you for helping us find our customary place to spend private time with you. Bless each reader to use all their senses and draw ever closer to you. Amen

“When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity and said to her, 

“Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.”

Luke 7:13-15 (NAB)

This is one of those seldom told stories in the gospel. A young man died, and at his funeral procession, Jesus was focused on his mother, who was walking behind the coffin. He felt compassion and pity for her, and then stopped the pallbearers, by speaking directly to the dead man, who came back to life and sat up. 

We often hear about the resurrection of Lazarus and Jairus’ daughter who died, but this episode is so different. It begins with Jesus feeling pity and compassion for a grieving mother. In this story, no one asked Jesus to help or to do anything for them. He initiated the miracle out of His own compassion, and resurrected her son. It shows that Jesus feels deeply for all of us, long before we ever ask Him for anything. 

The miracle that began with His compassion, was culminated by interrupting a funeral procession, to raise a young man back to life. 

I can think of a similar example of the compassion of Jesus, resulting in a  ‘spiritual’ type of resurrection, a few years ago at the Nursing Facility. 

There was a young woman resident in her late thirties named Amber, a resident at my son’s Nursing home. She used to sit all day long, staring  at the floor or ceiling, as if she were frozen. Although people tried talking to her, she never responded to anyone. Being curious, I asked around and learned that her mother passed away many years ago, and her father placed her in the Nursing home because of her profound psychiatric problems.

One day, while sitting at a table across the room, I noticed that Amber was subtly moving her lips. As I went closer, I heard her softly singing, even though no music was playing. The other residents at the table told me she had been doing that all day long. While we were happy to see her singing, Amber turned to the man sitting next to her, and said, “I’m having a good day”, and then continued singing. I couldn’t believe my ears, it was so amazing to hear her speak. 

I quickly searched on my phone, to download songs similar to what she was singing and then started playing them. I turned up the volume to play songs by James Taylor, Cindy Lauper, Bon Jovi, The Bee Gees, the Beatles, Gladys Knight, Aretha and Neil Diamond. 

Amber knew the lyrics to every single song that played, and she sang with such animation. She made everyone so happy, and soon all the residents at the table joined in with the chorus of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”

From that day on, with every visit, a resident would play songs on his speaker system, and Amber would sing along. When “Sweet Caroline” was played, the whole room joined in and sang together as a group. That whole sing-along atmosphere was therapeutic for everyone who was there at the time. 

The first time that Amber sang out loud was like a spiritual resurrection. Although singing is not the same as having a fluent conversation, it was a huge breakthrough for her. When I left to go home that day and said goodbye to everyone, I heard Amber answer, “Goodbye”. It was a special day because Jesus, in His great compassion, helped Amber express herself through singing.

Just as in today’s scripture, a miracle began with compassion and ended with a resurrection. The Lord intends to finish whatever He starts in us, as well as in those who we love and care for. His promise reads:

“Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Amber was since moved to another floor of the Nursing home, and there are many new faces there now, but even though I no longer see her, I believe God will continue His work in her, all the way to completion. 

Lord, we trust in your love and compassion and that you will finish every good work that you began in us as well as in our loved ones. Amen. 

(A MEMORIAL)

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28 ( NASB)

In honor of all Veterans, I’m sharing my oldest brother’s story. Ted was a recent college graduate, working towards his Master’s degree in Physics, when he was drafted during the Viet Nam war in 1971. He chose to join the Air Force instead of other branches of the military, to increase his chances of survival. It turned out he loved flying and was so good at it, he had a twelve year career in the Air Force, as an instructor pilot.  

Ted was stationed in South Korea in 1982. At the time, I was a busy stay at home mother of two year old twin boys, when I received a phone call one day which made my world stand still. I was informed that Ted’s plane went missing while on a routine instructor flight. In his last radio transmission he said, “I’ve got a problem,” as his F-16  completely disappeared from radar. 

During the search mission, we were hoping that he ejected from the plane and would be found alive. Some days later, the family was notified that his crash site was found on a mountain. Ted was only thirty five when he died, leaving behind his wife and three year old daughter. 

We learned a few years later that there was an electrical wire chafing problem, common to that particular F-16 model, which all the airplane mechanics were aware of. As our family coped with his loss, his wife did whatever she could, to bring publicity to the faulty electrical system in the F-16 fighter jets at the time. 

She eventually won the legal battle, after an investigation led to the discovery of mechanics’ training videos, which proved there was a wire chafing problem in F-16s. 

The truth was made public and the accident report was officially changed from pilot error to electrical wire chafing. She won her lawsuit against the government contractor, General Dynamics, who produced the electrical wiring for F-16 jets.

Since no one ever successfully sued a government contractor before that,  my sister in law was invited to tell her story on the Diane Sawyer show.  Then Disney Productions contacted her, and a movie was made, based on the legal battle that followed his crash. It was released in 1992 for HBO, called “Afterburn”. Laura Dern won a golden globe award, in playing my sister in law.

I always felt a sense of urgency to pray for Ted during his years in the Air Force, long before the accident happened. I’ll never know why things ended as they did, but I do know that no one just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every human life means more to God than being a mere victim of random tragic accidents. 

Scripture tells us that the days of our life are written in God’s book at the moment of our conception;

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book, before one of them came to be.” 

(Psalm 139:16)

God sees the eternal picture, while we only see the present one. 

I choose to believe that God is good, that He loves us, and works all things together for our “eternal” good. So, today, I honor and pray for all the men and women who were ever permanently injured or lost their lives in military service to this country. May God grant rest to their souls. 

Lord, help us to trust and believe in you, even through the painful and tragic events in our lives. By faith, we believe that you work all things together for our eternal good. Amen

In memory of Capt. Ted Harduvel

(Oct. 28, 1947-Nov. 15, 1982)

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Romans 8:29 (NIV)

God loves us as we are, but He also sees our potential, since we are all brothers and sisters of Christ. He wants to mold and conform us into the image of His son, to make us the best version of ourselves. We were made for much more than we realize, and God uses everything that happens in our lives, whether good or bad, as part of a process to transform and renew our minds. 

It’s natural to ask God to remove or change the problem situations, but what if He is using that situation to transform and change us for the good? Even through the most painful experiences, the Lord wants to renew our minds and conform us to Christ, as today’s scripture tells us.

The Lord brings out the shepherd like tendencies that are already deep within each of us. If Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, and we are being conformed to His image, that makes us His mini shepherds. Whether we know it or not, those shepherd like tendencies give us the urge to seek, lead and nurture God’s sheep. 

When we find ourself praying for the sick, comforting the broken, visiting the lonely or redirecting lost sheep, God is bringing the mini shepherd out in us, by sending sheep into our pasture.

After my husband died, I thought about people who were caregivers like me. Three years later my friend passed away within three months of her cancer diagnosis. I felt called to be a good friend to her to the end, but often wondered why God allowed so much loss within such a short period of time. 

God uses all kinds of adversity to further transform us into mini shepherds. The Holy Spirit is constantly renewing our minds, and conforming us into the image of Jesus, the Chief Shepherd.

My adult son, Jon, has been living in a Nursing Facility with a serious brain injury, since his motorcycle accident in 2023. When I first started visiting each week, I looked around the Community Day room and saw many people sitting alone, like lost sheep who never receive a visitor.

Then the words of Jesus came into my mind, “I was sick and you visited me”. (Matthew 25:36) 

I realized from that moment on, that those Nursing home residents were the sheep that God brought into my pasture. 

Mother Teresa is one of the best examples of a human person who shepherded anyone who came into her pasture. It’s estimated that she cradled in her arms about 16,000 dying people in Calcutta over the span of her ministry. 

Someone once asked her how she converted so many dying people, since they only knew the religions of India. She said that she would ask each person as they were dying in her arms, “Do you want to give your life to Christ ?” and they responded the same way, asking, 

“Who is Christ, is He like you?” 

Their response is the essence of our Christian faith. God intended for us to live in such a way that others could see Christ in us. The people she held in her arms never heard the gospel or read one single verse of scripture, but they gladly received Jesus Christ, because they saw Him through her. 

We are all mini shepherds of Jesus in this world and though we don’t have to do it at the same scale as Mother Teresa did, we still can become His  eyes, hands, feet, and mouth on earth, until He returns.

There are sheep who God has sent into our pasture, who are looking at us today and wondering, 

“Who is Christ? Is He like you?” 

Lord, renew our minds and help us to be your mini shepherds, and to see people through your eyes, so that they can see You in us. 

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

James 1:17 ( NASB)

All the right things have to line up to have a successful ending to any challenging situation. God can send the right person with the right attitude at the right time, and it all lines up perfectly, resulting in those moments we know to be gifts from God.

Scripture says that every good thing and every perfect gift is from above. Not just some, but every good and perfect gift comes from God. We may think we have achieved something on our own by using our skill, but heaven knows how many things are gifts from above. 

In every stage or journey, if we commit our life into God’s hands, we will see His hand in every part of our life. I see the reality of this in the many unexpected blessings in my son’s life at the Nursing home. 

His nails grow fast, and yet he is so unpredictable about allowing someone to clip them. One time he walked up to a nurse assistant and clearly asked him, ‘Can you cut my nails?’ In another rare moment, Martha, Andy’s mother, approached Jon with clippers and he calmly let her clip all his nails. That was a few months ago, but between those rare moments, Jon usually refuses and can be totally uncooperative. Meanwhile, his nails are growing to out-of-control lengths. 

Last week, Martha was clipping Andy’s nails at our table, and she asked Jon if she could clip his too, but he ignored her. So I asked him again, showing him my nail scissor. He held up his middle finger to me. I was shocked. Was he giving me the finger? That would be a first, but then I looked more carefully at that middle finger and saw a very long but partially cracked nail. Jon was trying to say without words that he wanted me to trim that nail. So I did it as he nodded yes, in approval. Then I asked if I could cut the other nine and he was totally cooperative. That was a gift!

Martha and Ray were cheering us on since they know how challenging Jon can be. Ray started to take a video of me cutting his nails. We were all happy that Jon allowed it, and Jon seemed relieved in the end as well. It may sound like a silly thing to rejoice over, but just as the scripture verse says, ‘Every good thing is a gift from God, the Father of lights.’

Lord, thank you for shining your light on us through the many good gifts you send down each day, which all come from heaven as simple, everyday graces. Amen

“I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”

1 Corinthians 9:22 (NIV)

The heart of Paul’s teaching is to become all things to all people, in order to win some people for Christ. His thinking parallels the image Jesus shared about scattering our seed on all ground, to see which seeds take root and bear fruit. To become all things to all people is to show respect to what is sacred to people of other faiths and cultures.

Different faiths have different holy days on the calendar. For Christians, of all denominations, Easter week is their most sacred time. Islam’s holy days occur during the month of Ramadan, and the major Jewish holy days are The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and Passover. Hindus have the holiday of Diwali, a Festival of Lights that celebrates good over evil. Showing respect to what other faiths hold sacred, is one of many ways to become all things to all people.

Jesus mingled with many gentiles who had beliefs contrary to His Jewish culture, but He did it with gentleness, truth, and respect. I found an interesting example of being all things to all people, in a hair salon that I have been going to every two months. Rania, the salon owner, is a non religious Moslem woman from Jordan, who is beautiful both inside and out. She welcomes clients of all cultures, including orthodox Jewish and Moslem women, who both adhere to the rule of never showing their hair in public. Rania has a special room for them with a big curtain that is pulled closed to give them the privacy they require while having their hair styled. 

She is not only sensitive to Jewish and Moslem religious clientele, but has employees who are Christians. One of her stylists is a devout Christian from Iraq, who has personally witnessed the persecution and suffering of Christians at the hands of Islamic extremism. Yet, she works in unity with Moslems, Jews and other Christians in the salon. Arabic is a common language to all of them, but they speak fluent English as well.

I am always amazed at how Rania has created a melting pot of people from faiths that don’t usually blend well together. Her salon is a perfect example of how the world could be. Rania has become all things to all people, as Paul described, even though she never read a Bible in her life.

I learned how to say thank you in Arabic, so after my hair appointment was done, I turned to Rania and said, ‘Shukran’ for the first time. She was so delighted that she hugged me. If only the whole world could let go of all hatred, racism, and bigotry, what a beautiful world it could be.

I once had an experience of briefly becoming all things to all people. As a volunteer for the chaplain ministry at the hospital, they occasionally ask us to escort a rabbi during a Jewish holiday, to help him find the patient rooms that are on his visitation list.

I was scheduled to meet a Rabbi that day but instead I met two young men in their early twenties, who were in training to become Rabbis. Their visitation in hospitals and Nursing Homes is part of their clinical training. 

I could see that they were religious Orthodox Jews, wearing black hats and suits, with tassels hanging down from a prayer garment worn under their street clothes, called Tzitzit, prescribed by Mosaic law.  As I glanced at their tassels hanging down, I thought of the woman in the gospel story who touched the ‘fringe’ or ‘tassels’ of Jesus’ garment and she was instantly healed. I had a mental image of Jesus wearing Tzitzit in observing His faith culture. 

Anyway, my job was to escort these young Rabbis in training, to every room they needed to visit. I also showed them how to put on the protective equipment, like gowns, masks and gloves if required, before entering a patient room. I waited in the hallway outside each room, until they were ready to go on to the next. They read from the Torah scroll, which contains the first five books of the Bible in Hebrew, and concluded with a prayer and a worship song.

When we returned to the chapel office, they proudly unrolled their Torah scroll to show it to me. It was beautiful and as I looked at the Hebrew script, I remembered how in 1984, I studied some Hebrew with a Berlitz book and tapes, to prepare for a trip to the holy land. Though I can only read Hebrew at a first grade level, I wanted to have a little fun with the students, so while the scroll was open, I started to sound out the letters of each word on the first line of the scroll, reading from right to left, as best I could. 

They looked at each other in amazement, and I just laughed, telling them that I can read it, but I don’t always know what it means. They were so shocked that a gentile woman could read a sacred Torah scroll. For a brief moment I felt like I became all things to those young men, by reading their sacred scroll. We thanked each other for a great day and then said our good byes. 

Paul inspires us to become all things to all people, and one way to do it, is by respecting a person’s culture and faith. It’s up to us as followers of Jesus, to be all things to all people, to plant the seeds of mutual respect, and then let God bring the growth. It’s a way of loving our neighbor which Jesus called the 2nd greatest commandment. Everyone desires respect, and anyone will be more receptive to Jesus, if they first feel loved and respected for who they are.

Lord, show us how we can become all things to all people, so that we may reflect the compassion of Jesus, wherever we go. Amen 

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.”

Hebrews 11:8 (RSV)

Abraham had no ancestors for many decades, since Sarah did not conceive a child until miraculously, in her nineties. For decades, Abraham went wherever God led him, trusting His promise to make a nation out of his ‘ancestors.’

The first example in scripture of a person leaving their comfort zone, is Abraham. He was called to start a new nation, but he never understood how a nation could come from him, since he was childless. 

Abraham trusted and believed God by leaving the place where he grew up, his friends, family and the empty religions of his community, to begin a journey that never made complete sense until the age of 100. That was when he finally witnessed the birth of his and Sarah’s biological son. Isaac was the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. Although Abraham never saw the nation that would come from Isaac, he believed God’s promise, which was actualized through his twelve grandsons, long after Abraham was gone. 

Abraham’s story shows us how leaving our comfort zone can reap blessings long afterwords and that some prayers are still answered long after the person who prayed, is gone.

Many other heroes of faith left their comfort zone to trust God and they reaped blessings long afterward. Moses left a royal palace in Egypt, to began a new life as a shepherd. One day, God called him from a bush that was on fire. Moses obeyed God but he faced many uncomfortable circumstances, while leading the Israelites out of Egypt. The people grumbled, complained and criticized him every step of the way. It was an difficult task, but Moses prayed and interceded for them, and God parted the sea and led them all to their promised land.

Queen Esther was one of the many wives of a powerful King of Persia. Upon learning of a genocide plot towards all the Hebrew people, she left her comfort zone by revealing to the king that she was a Hebrew. 

She interceded for the people by choosing to speak up and saved her generation from genocide.

There are many other people in scripture who left their comfort zone to pursue what God led them to do, like Peter and all the apostles. We all  go through new phases at times in our lives, which require us to let go of the familiar and take some new risk. It may not be comfortable but by trusting God’s plan, He gives us His grace to do all things.

Like the heroes and heroins of scripture, a certain situation may push us out of our comfort zone, and  test our faith. I am more aware these days how getting older brings conditions that require us to leave a comfort zone of some kind, and move on to a new phase in our life. 

I met an elderly patient last week at the hospital during my volunteer ministry. She was recovering slowly from a stroke and asked me to pray for her to die. I told her as long as she is breathing, God still has something for her to do, even if it is to pray for others. So, I prayed for her, she thanked me, but I hope she can let go of the comfort zone of how life used to be, and embrace a new purpose during her recovery phase.

If we are still breathing, there will always be a new phase with a new purpose, for us. We tend to cling to the familiar and comfortable, but when we let go, God can lead us to the next phase in our life. He also gives us a new comfort by placing our trust in a good and loving God, who will never forsake us, and has many new blessings to give us tomorrow.

Lord, help us not to fear leaving our comfort zones and to trust wherever you lead us, as you did for the many heroes of faith in scripture. Amen

“The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.”

Exodus 1:17 (NIV)

Before hospitals existed, midwives were essential for women during childbirth. The midwives in this story were strong faith filled women, who lived under a very cruel, controlling Pharaoh in Egypt. He commanded all midwives to kill every Hebrew male newborn, hoping to get control over the robust Hebrew population that was quickly multiplying in the land. 

Two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, outwardly agreed to Pharaoh’s new demand, but they actually defied his ruling, and continued to deliver every baby, helping each one, including males, to live after birth. Asking a midwife to kill all male babies they deliver, is like asking a fireman to burn down half a city. It goes against their whole purpose and calling in life. These two midwives were women of courage, who feared God more than Pharaoh, and defied his ruling, putting their own lives at risk. 

Life presents many hardships that can challenge our central purpose, and make us wonder why we are here. There are many things to fear these days, but if a fear of God comes first, as it did with Shiphrah and Puah, our purpose will be fulfilled and souls will be saved in the end. A healthy fear of God means standing firm, even when no one else supports you. 

I had a grandmother in Greece, who I never knew, who was my father’s mother. She was a midwife and helped in the births of many children, including ten of her own. Although some of hers died as infants, six of her children lived and my father was her first born. Then the unthinkable happened. Her husband, my grandfather, deserted her and she was left to care for herself and the six children. 

Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she began offering more of her midwife services to the women in the surrounding villages of Greece, and was able to support her family by delivering babies in exchange for food. 

Eventually, my father emigrated to America as a teenager, and worked for his uncle in Chicago. Later, he sent for his mother and siblings. Like the story of many immigrants, my father brought his family here, and they settled in the U.S. for the remainder of their lives. 

It’s a story that could have ended in tragedy, but because of a strong woman of faith and courage, the story ended happily. She defied all the odds against her, by being an abandoned woman, living in poverty, and raising six children alone, yet she and her children all survived. My grandmother used her faith, courage and her midwife skills to provide for her children. Because of her, I am here today, and am proud to be named after her. 

The midwives in the Bible story today were strong, resilient women, like my grandmother. They didn’t shrink back in fear, though they were slaves in that society. They had the courage to do the right thing, by risking their own lives, by keeping all the babies alive. 

Shiphrah and Puah made a bold decision to disobey Pharaoh and prioritize the lives of the babies over their own. One of the many babies that they saved, was Moses, who grew up to deliver their people from slavery. God gives us courage in hard times, to follow through, and fulfill our purpose. As a result, deliverance comes and souls are saved in the end.  

When I first heard the story of my grandmother, I wondered how she found so much strength, but then I realized that we all have that same strength and courage within us. If we turn to the Lord, He will help us through every tribulation that we face in our lifetime. He helps us overcome our fears, and gives us the courage, not only to survive, but to inspire others and change the world forever. 

Lord, help us to draw from the strength that you have placed within each of us. Give us courage over our fears, to live by faith and fulfill the purpose you have called us to. Amen

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us, spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.”

2 Corinthians 2:14 (RSV)

This scripture says a lot with very few words. God wants to spread the fragrance of His Son to the whole world, through those who believe in Him. Spreading the fragrance of Christ, at first, sounds like an overwhelming mission, as if we are responsible to persuade everyone to turn to Him. Our part in fact, is small, in spreading His fragrance, because the Holy Spirit does most of the work.

A simple way to think about it, is that any time we express kindness or lend a listening ear to someone, we are spreading the fragrance of Christ, but a very simple way is to show gratitude to others. Just thanking someone with words of gratitude, spreads His fragrance. 

Jesus talked about gratitude when  the ten lepers were healed by Him, but only one returned to thank Him. There’s no doubt that God desires our gratitude, and since we are made in His image, we naturally desire gratitude as well. Receiving  words of gratitude lifts our spirit and makes us feel appreciated by God as well as by people.

The beauty of gratitude is that it’s not about telling people what they should or shouldn’t do. Gratitude has no interest in telling others how to live. It’s just about thanking them for who they are. We are psychologically pre-wired by God to thrive on  encouraging words of gratitude from others. It’s what keeps the fragrance of Christ’s love flowing.

When we think of anyone who once left a positive impression on us, they are usually people who are filled with an attitude of gratitude. They have a thankful spirit, which emanates the fragrance of Christ to all around them. There is an old saying, “Out of 100 men, one might read a Bible, but the other 99 will read a Christian.” 

Most people we meet are reading us instead of a bible. I need to remind myself every day that the people in my life are there for a reason. Our next door neighbors, church friends, family, coworkers, and loved ones may only be in our lives for a certain amount of time. Some people are very challenging to be around, but we can still find something in each person, to be grateful for.

Some people have lived their lifetime never feeling good enough, but when they receive words of gratitude, their self worth is boosted. It’s especially true among Nursing home residents. I visit Jon’s Nursing home three days a week, and see many people who feel forgotten and of no value to God,  much less anyone else. 

There is a certain lady who never receives visits from family or friends, but is always selflessly caring for her roommate of many years. I often remark on how kind and caring she is to her roommate, and I know that my gratitude adds a bit of dignity to her soul. 

If I ever had any regrets after being the primary caregiver for my late husband, it would be for being so busy, that I didn’t express enough words of gratitude to him during those trying days. Gratitude gives the recipient a fresh awareness of their worth and value to God. 

Gratitude can even send an aroma of Christ to people who have argumentative personalities. The wisest answers can fail, but words of gratitude can soften any heart. Gratitude leads lost lambs back into the arms of their Shepherd and reminds the older sheep that they are still seen and loved. 

Lord, thank you for showing us the many ways to spread your fragrance to those around us. Use our words of gratitude to gather your lambs closer to you. Amen

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5 (NIV)

I was watching the news one day, which was pretty dark, more of the usual violence, sorrow and injustice, both locally and globally. As I was talking to God, I asked, “Lord, what do you have to say about all the sadness in this world?”

Later that day, I think I received His answer. It was in 2023, and I was visiting the Nursing home shortly after my son’s motorcycle accident. Jon was a new resident, and due to his traumatic brain injury, wasn’t yet walking or eating on his own, as he does today. He was sitting in a chair with other residents in the community room, and while visiting, I observed a young woman who entered the room and walked around greeting all the residents, calling each one by name. 

She was like a light shining in the darkness, greeting some residents with a hug and giving attention to those who have no visitors. Some residents in wheelchairs reached out to hug her as soon as she walked in. At first I thought she was a therapist, or a ministry person or an employee on staff. 

To my surprise, she was none of the above. Monica introduced herself to me and my son as another visitor, whose mother is a resident there. As I spoke with her, she pointed out her mother, sitting across the room, who was admitted after having a stroke. During Monica’s weekly visits to her mother, she made a point of greeting the other residents, calling them all by name. She told me how it broke her heart to learn that so many residents have no one to visit them. 

Watching all the people light up when Monica greeted them, it was apparent that she was a gift of light to their lonely existence. For those residents, the simplest and greatest joy in life is to have human touch, to be known by name and to be heard, regardless of their mental status. Even those who suffer from brain injury, like Jon, and live in an altered mental state, can still find joy in their current condition. 

That morning I asked God what He has to say about all the sadness in the world, and He answered me later that same day by showing me Monica. It was as if He was telling me that He has many other people in the world just like Monica. She is not the only one who is shining His light in someone else’s darkness. God is still doing miracles today, through small, simple blessings that make a difference, but rarely make the headline news.

Small and simple is how God usually works these days. He doesn’t part seas every day, or routinely rain bread from heaven, as He did for His people thousands of years ago. He chose to reveal Himself to us in a small and simple way, through a newborn baby, born to an unknown poor, humble couple. He showed the world how much He loved us, by becoming one of us. 

Our society is filled with news reports of trouble and bad news but God is still shining His light through small and simple things. He does it today through people who bless the meek, the poor in spirit, and those who suffer, mourn or are lonely. 

Monica’s mother passed away a few months after that, and Monica hasn’t returned to the Nursing home since. I hope I can pick up where Monica left off, and make a small, simple difference for the few residents I’ve come to know. 

I thank all the people who are shining a light in dark places, wherever they do it. It is through our small, simple acts of kindness, that the light we shine for Jesus, will never be overcome by the darkness.

Lord, your light is much greater than the darkness, so help us to do small, simple things, that will shine your light through us, and make a difference.
Amen