Kissed by the Spirit

“I thank my God every time I remember you.”

Philippians 1:3 (NIV)

The words in this simple scripture can be said about many friends or loved ones, who have impacted our lives at some time, in a special way, whether they are still living or not. 

Today, I am remembering my friend Michelle, who left this world way too soon. We worked together for twelve years and became friends. She was young enough to be my daughter, but we still had good times together. She went with me to pick up the dog I adopted back in 2020. Ever since then, she called herself his godmother, visiting him and asking, “How’s my goddog?” We had so many laughs over the years. 

She was a talented craftsperson and her handiwork is in every corner of my home, from the bedazzled glass case where I keep my reading glasses, to the holiday wreaths I hang on my front door, and the  earrings in my jewelry box. Wherever I look, I see signs of Michelle’s work, which reminds me of our friendship over the years. Anyone who knew Michelle,  knew that besides crafts, she also loved babies, children and animals. 

I’ll never forget a true story that Michelle once shared with me, as it stands out above all else. She was at a gas station one day, pumping gas in her car, when she noticed a man choking in the car next to her. She rushed to take action, bringing him out of his car and doing the Heimlich maneuver on him, which saved his life. Naturally, the man was grateful and Michelle was very humble about saving his life, but I never forgot that story.

Sadly, Michelle couldn’t save herself, one day in 2023, when she was unable to breathe due to a blood clot in her lung. As she had trouble breathing, she called her sister, who quickly drove over to take her to the nearest hospital emergency room, but it was too late, because Michelle collapsed walking out of her front door. 

Paramedics tried to resuscitate her, but she passed away. She was only 44, and it’s heart breaking to lose a friend who was so young, creative, kind and generous. I still miss her, knowing she had so much to live for. 

The man she saved at that gas station, may never know about her fate, but he’s probably still sharing the story of how a woman, who was a total stranger, saved his life one day, when he was choking. 

I believe that angels surround us each day, and they may spare us without us ever knowing, from impending danger and accidents, through their divine intervention. In some instances, the angels that God sends are regular people, who are at the right place at the right time, responding to a need, and doing what it takes to save a life. Michelle was someone’s angel that day, as God used her in the miracle of saving a stranger’s life.  

Maybe we are all meant to be somebody’s angel. We may not save a life physically, but we can still be  there for someone at the right time. 

Lord, we open our hearts to be available as needed, to make the world a better place by becoming somebody’s angel. Amen

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

Yesterday I spent the day with a high school friend who moved to Israel forty years ago. We usually get together at least once whenever he comes in for a visit.

Larry is my age and we both lived on the same city block in Chicago, and attended the same schools growing up. We later lost contact with each other until one of our high school reunions a few years ago. I can still remember his tragic accident, when he was seven years old and hit by a car right on our residential side street. He sustained a traumatic brain injury, was hospitalized, and eventually recovered enough to return to school. 

His right eye turns outward ever since the accident, but he can see. Both his hands tremor, but over all, he recovered enough cognitively, to finish school all the way through to the college level. He has learned to use the steadier hand to hold the other hand, as he manages to eat and sign his name, but can no longer drive.

He shared a story with me from his childhood years, regarding how hard it was to adjust returning to school after his brain injury. Four years after his accident, we were in the same 6th grade class together with a teacher named Mrs. Snow. One day Larry became very frustrated and couldn’t complete his work due to his hand tremor, which made it hard to write. He started crying and said out loud, “I can’t do it!” Mrs. Snow firmly said “Don’t say I can’t, say I can and I will!”

At first that sounded harsh and incompassionate, but today Larry credits Mrs. Snow as the person who set him in the right direction to adapt and adjust to a new way of living, and he stopped feeling sorry for himself ever since that. He told me he never says the phrase, “I can’t.” Larry went on to graduate from high school, finished college and got a driver’s license. He even once took flying lessons and learned to fly a plane. I never knew how much Mrs. Snow had positively influenced him. 

When he came to the US for a visit back in 2009, he searched for Mrs. Snow to tell her how much she had helped him. He found a phone number, and spoke to her daughter in law, who told Larry that Mrs. Snow now lives in a Nursing home but still has perfect function, mentally. 

Larry got in touch with Mrs. Snow by phone and she remembered him as if it were 1963 when she taught our class. They talked about those days when Larry struggled with his injury related deficits, and he thanked her for never letting him sulk in self pity. He told her how she changed his life perspective for the best. Mrs. Snow was ‘105’ years old when they spoke that day, but passed away soon afterward.

All things are possible with God, including our restoration to spiritual and psychological wholeness, by adjusting to any new phase in our life. God doesn’t want us to get stuck in self pity, but to move forward and say to ourselves, “I can and I will.”That was the same spirit reflected by a strong inspiring, lady and departed grade school teacher, Mrs. Snow.

Lord, help all of us who are in a transition stage of life to adjust and move forward saying “I can and I will, in Jesus name.” Amen 

“But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Matthew 25:13 (NIV)

‘Standing firm’, are the words of Jesus. It’s His expression for staying steadfast in the faith, to spiritually withstand the many challenges of life. 

Standing firm is physically and literally challenging when standing on a floor full of oil and broken glass. That’s what happened to me recently, when I reached into a kitchen cabinet for a glass bottle of avocado oil, which slipped out of my hand, hit the counter and then crashed onto my kitchen floor. 

I found myself standing barefoot in a pool of avocado oil and shattered pieces of glass. I first prayed that I would not get injured, as my feet were sliding on the oil. It took all my strength to stand firm, without getting cut, while cleaning up oil and broken glass. 

After an hour it was cleaned up, but two days later I still found pieces of glass on the counter and in the far corners of the floor. It was an unforgettable mess.

One word that describes the whole experience is ‘vulnerability.’ I felt very vulnerable with the possibility of slipping, falling or getting cut, but I’m thankful I didn’t get injured. After such a crazy experience, I wondered what I was supposed to learn from it, besides starting each day by asking for God’s protection. 

Somehow, the scripture above fit the theme, where Jesus told us to stand firm in the 25th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, which is all about standing firm to ‘the end’, referring to being prepared for the day of judgement. Jesus talked about the ten virgins carrying lamps, while only five were prepared by having oil in them. 

Then He told the story of servants who each invested their talents while their master was away. Jesus spoke of His own return one day, with His angels, to sit on a throne and judge the living and the dead. He said so much on the topic that Matthew devoted an entire chapter of his gospel to preparing and standing firm for that day. 

To summarize the message of Jesus, He reminds us to keep oil in our lamps, use the talents that He gave us, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit those who are sick or in prison. His message is a basic one, to use our time, talents and treasures in ways that show His love, for our eternal good and for others.

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the  early church was persecuted by the Roman Empire for the first 250 years. When they finally were free to openly worship, new problems arose due to heresies and false teachings, casting doubts on doctrines like the deity and incarnation of Christ. The church had to clarify the truth from lies, and stand firm in teaching the Christian faith.

Jesus never promised that the Christian life would be an easy,  carefree lifestyle. He said that in the world there is always trouble, but He has overcome the world. Doubt, fears and worry often makes us feel vulnerable, like we are standing in a pool of oil and broken glass. I feel more vulnerable these days, since my health is not as good as it once was, living alone, and have adult sons who both need help in some way, but I trust what Jesus said about standing firm. If we ask and pray, God will hear and help us.

After finding tiny pieces of broken glass in my kitchen for some days afterward, it reminds me that we need to check the corners of our heart and our attitude from time to time, to see what needs to be cleaned out. 

God sees all that is within us and He is faithful to forgive and cleanse us from any sin. He also comforts us in our fear and anxiety. As we place our full trust and confidence in Jesus, we will stand firm and live in His peace.

Lord, help us in any ways that we feel vulnerable today and strengthen us to stand firm in your truth. Amen 

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

I arrived at the Nursing home one day last week and after greeting the residents in the day room, I noticed that Jon wasn’t in there. So I went to his room to tell him that I was here. Whenever I do that, he usually smiles and comes out to sit with me and the residents. 

I looked in his room but he wasn’t there so I went to his nurse to ask where he was. His nurse casually said, “I think he’s in his bathroom brushing his teeth.” I was stunned and asked her, “Jon brushes his own teeth???” She said yes and invited me to come and see.  

We both walked to his room and as we opened his bathroom door a bit, our two heads peeked inside, as Jon stood over his sink, brushing his teeth with his left (good) hand. Then he turned to us and asked, “What are you doing?” The whole scene blew my mind. He not only was brushing his own teeth but said something understandable, which made sense. 

It made me laugh out loud but also encouraged my faith to believe for his continued progress. It may seem trivial that a 46 year old brushes his own teeth, but it’s a huge step of progress for him after his brain injury. The staff and I attempted to brush his teeth many times over the past three years, but he always resisted us. That’s why I was shocked to see him doing it on his own. 

Jon may not be aware, but brushing his teeth was a visible sign of the invisible work that God is still doing in him. If we stop to think about what is different in our lives today compared to three years ago, we would surely find many things to be thankful for, things for which God deserves all the credit. Though we might have new problems today, we have received many new blessings as well. I tend to dwell on the bigger problems, while overlooking the small blessings right in front of me. 

Paul told the Corinthians whether they eat or drink, to do all things to the glory of God. Jon was doing something new and when he turned and asked, “What are you doing?” I can now answer, “I am giving God the glory to see you brushing your own teeth!”

If God were to ask us, “What are you doing?” hopefully we can answer with something that gives Him all the honor and the glory. Whether we eat, drink (or brush our teeth), we do it for the glory of God, as Paul told us to do.

The Christian author, C.S. Lewis, said, “When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.” There will always be something right in front of us, to give God the praise, glory and honor for. 

Lord, we lift up our hearts to you and give you glory. Help us to celebrate the small and unexpected ways that you are blessing us. Amen

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Genesis 3:15 (RSV)

In this passage of Genesis, God is speaking to the serpent in the garden, who is a personification of Satan. The Lord pronounces a long lasting animosity between the two parties, as He foretold that the seed of a woman and the serpent, will always be at enmity with each other. That prophecy in Genesis also foretold that the ‘seed of the woman’ (Jesus) would crush the head of the serpent (Satan). 

In ancient Hebrew culture ‘the seed’  refers to the children or ancestors of a male person. Abraham’s offspring are known as his seed. Scripture refers to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and even Ishmael comes from Abraham’s seed. In biblical culture, only men had seed. 

That’s why Genesis 3:15 is radically unusual for its time by referring to the seed of a woman, instead of the seed of a man. Eden’s prophecy refers to ‘her seed’, which we know now is Mary’s seed, and her seed is Jesus. God is funny about doing many things outside the norm of our cultural traditions. 

Biblical history is full of traditions led by men in a man’s world, yet God disregards the traditions of men and reveals a Savior who is to come from the seed of a woman, and not from a man. It had to be a perplexing concept to process at the time. Jesus, in His ministry, did many things outside the cultural norms of His time.

God’s plan to save the world began with a woman. Conceived in a virgin womb with no males involved at all, Jesus is the true seed of Mary, not the seed of a man. He is the one who will one day crush the head of the serpent, once and for all. 

Women didn’t usually play a part in crushing and overcoming evil, until Jesus came from the seed of a woman, and conquered sin once and for all, on the cross. Genesis is a book of generations of broken people, who were stumbling in sin, sorrow and shame until the grace of God sent a Savior.

The families of Genesis tell the stories of people who messed up but found grace. Cain murdered his brother Abel, Esau hated his brother Jacob, Sarah was impulsive and impatient, Abraham was often too passive, and Ishmael was robbed of his birthright and thrown out of the house. Isaac, the child of promise, had to strive by faith, through many dysfunctional family situations. They were not perfect characters who rose to their calling, but flawed people who stumbled and fell, but received God’s grace to rise again and again. 

It’s the story of the Christian faith throughout history, which went through many fires, died and resurrected many times, just as Christian believers do through their storms of life. God works His will in amazing ways, far outside of our traditional expectations. He loves all people, male and female equally, and continues to shower His mercy upon the whole world.

Genesis reminds us to remain open minded to the untraditional, to think outside the box, forgive the faults of others, as we want to be forgiven. God can do anything with anyone, despite their shortcomings, and He tends to do it outside our norms, in the most unexpected ways, yet all for our good.

Lord, thank you for the unique ways you bring redemption to us, and we surrender and open our hearts to whatever you are doing for our good and for your glory. Amen 

“For God speaks in one way,
and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men…”

Job 33:14-16 (RSV)

God speaks to us in many ways. He does it through our thoughts, prayers, a scripture or people He sends to us. Sometimes He speaks to us in our dreams during the night. I seldom remember any of my dreams, but I wrote down the details of one very unique and colorful dream, that I had in 2023, the year of my son’s accident.

It may not be as meaningful to others, but what made it inspiring for me, was that it was like an allegory for the Christian life in general. 

I dreamed that a mysterious male being, who had an aura of authority, came to my front door and told me to come with him to a hiding place. I didn’t know who he was, or what he meant, but somehow, I trusted him, so we set out to travel together on foot. 

We ran through various landscapes, across fields and forests, and only when he held my hand, was I able to run as fast as him, and keep up. When I let go of his hand and ran at my own pace, I lagged far behind him. He was so much faster and stronger than me, so I finally called out, “Hold my hand so I can run faster !” He held my hand and I ran like a gazelle.

We stopped at a pond to drink water, but the pond was dried up. Without saying a word, he helped me to leap over it, and we kept running, though  I never felt tired or thirsty. We finally arrived at a street filled with a row of colorful stucco homes. Each home was a different color and there were men on ladders, working on the finishing touches of each one. On the front of every home was a big cross and colorful banners that contained scripture verses. Then he led me to one of those homes, calling it my “hiding place.” I was about to go inside, when I suddenly woke up. 

Looking back at that colorful, mysterious adventure, here is the meaning I found in it. The man in my dream was a heavenly angel or maybe my guardian angel. Our guardian angels are assigned to keep us moving toward whatever leads us to heaven. 

The Christian journey is an active one, and we are not meant to remain stagnant. The angel who led me in my dream, led with action more than with words. I was able to keep up and run faster, only when he held my hand. All of our hope and strength comes from God, and we stay connected to Him, by keeping our hand in His, as He promised, 

“I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”(Isaiah 41:10)

I thought of the dried up pond and realized that we encounter many dried up ponds in a lifetime. They represent the disappointments and sorrows encountered on our journey of faith. We move forward by leaping over the dried up ponds, keeping our eyes on Christ. We always do better looking ahead, rather than looking back, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”(Philippians 3:13)

Despite that dried up pond, I never felt thirsty in the dream because Jesus gives us living water, and whoever drinks it, will never thirst again. (John 4:14)

Most of what I dreamed are lessons from the gospels, but those colorful homes remain a mystery. Every house had a cross on it, with workmen on ladders, making the finishing touches to the outside. We belong to Christ, but we are all still God’s work in progress, like those homes. We are under renovation as  the Lord makes the finishing touches in our lives. 

I woke up from that dream, without ever seeing what was inside that colorful home. I know it wasn’t a hiding place to keep us from reality, but a place filled with the hidden treasures of wisdom that we gain through the years of knowing Jesus.

He may be teaching us that instead of moving mountains, He wants us to walk us across them, holding His hand. Instead of calming the storm, He is holding our hand and walking through the storms of life with us. Whatever trial we go through, holding onto His hand is what matters most. We can get through anything if we keep holding on to the pierced, nail scarred hand of Jesus. 

Lord, thank you for never leaving us and giving us strength to make this journey with endurance. Help us to always seek the treasures of wisdom hidden in you. Amen

“Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.”

John 5:8 (RSV)

The pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, was known for its healing properties during the time of Jesus. It’s hard to imagine that for thirty eight years, one man never once had the chance to get into the pool. Multitudes of other sick, blind and lame people managed to get into the holy, healing waters, except for that one man.

I think at times, we may feel like that man, who didn’t get the answer to a prayer, who missed opportunities, and never received the help he needed. Some situations leave us feeling isolated, alone or forgotten.

Whether we need healing, a restored relationship, a loved one to return home to their faith, or a financial miracle, Satan, the enemy of our souls, is trying to erode our faith, by making us feel forsaken by God.

The paralytic in this gospel story spent years just waiting. He was at the Bethesda pool longer than anyone else, yet was never able to get in the water. He dwelled on all the people who disappointed him. Of all the people who sought healing at the Bethesda pool, Jesus chose to approach only one man, because the Lord seeks to show compassion to the brokenhearted. 

The strategy of the enemy was to make the paralytic dwell on all those who let him down, and the reasons he failed to get into the water. After thirty eight years, that man’s spiritual self image was more paralyzed than his body. 

When Jesus said “Rise up!”, the man looked up for the first time at Jesus’ face and was instantly healed. Blood began to circulate in his legs, nerves were rejuvenated and muscles were strengthened after many decades of paralysis. 

The Lord says “Rise up” to us as well, meaning to lift our eyes and heart to Him. There is a time to let go of all that has kept us down because Jesus knows what spiritually cripples us. We might be crippled with fear, doubt, guilt or unforgiveness, but our identity is based on who Jesus says we are, not how we feel. In His eyes, we are beloved, not belittled. 

Jesus also tells us who we are not:

We are not the sum of our past failures and mistakes. We are not the label or title that others placed on us. We are not defined by a medical diagnosis, and we are never forsaken or forgotten by God. 

We are chosen, forgiven, resurrected with Christ, and destined to live in victory because He lives to intercede for us every day. (Hebrews 7:25)

When difficult things happen and we hold on to hope, we will rise again by our faith, because Jesus says to us,

“Rise, take up your mat and walk!”

I don’t know what works for others to lift their spirit and inspire hope, but music always does it for me. The song I attached is by Matt Maher, which makes me rise every time I hear it, and is like a healing balm for the soul. 

Lord, lift up the hearts of every reader today and help us see ourselves and others through your eyes. Raise us up with new hope for tomorrow. Amen

GONNA BE ALRIGHT By Matt Maher – YouTube

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

I had an experience that revealed how the Holy Spirit leads us, while we are not even aware that it is Him, assuming that people are redirecting our plans. The Spirit subtly changes our direction, yet not in a dramatic way. There’s no pillar of cloud or pillar of fire that leads us on the path He wants for us, as when He led the Israelites in the wilderness. Sometimes He turns us in the right direction, by what appears to be outside interference.

I was doing my usual volunteer routine last Sunday at the hospital. 

I followed the routine of putting on the dark blue lab coat, wearing the name tag identifying me as a volunteer from the hospital Chaplain department. All of us volunteers choose the day or days that we can come to the hospital, and I chose every Sunday morning. I routinely arrive at the office, sign in and then choose the 8th floor unit to visit.

For over twenty years, my routine has been to first visit the oncology unit on the 8th floor. Last Sunday I started out to do my routine but the Holy Spirit had a different plan. I picked up the list of patients, and signed in, but saw that a newer volunteer arrived before me, and was already on the 8th floor. 

So, I figured I would go to the 7th floor, but when I got there, I found that most of the patients were not available, for various reasons. I still wanted to do something, so I went to the 4th floor. Apparently, that was the exact floor that the Holy Spirit was trying to lead me to, at least for three people in particular.

The first patient was a burly, rugged looking man. After praying for him and saying goodbye, I noticed that he was completely choked up and in tears. I don’t know his story, but God does, and I was just thankful to be able to pray for him that day.

The next patient was a woman who was legally blind. When I introduced myself, she excitedly said that she was praying all morning for someone to visit her. We talked and I prayed for her, and was thankful that God used me to answer her prayer that day. 

The third person was a lady in her early 80’s, who was at her dying husband’s bedside. She told me he had just been placed on hospice that morning. He was unresponsive, asleep but breathing on his own. Then she shared her story with me. Fifty years ago, she was a divorced single mother of three, and met him at their workplace. They married and he was a loving husband and stepfather to her three children for fifty years. 

She shared how they routinely prayed together every night before going to bed, even if they had a disagreement earlier that day. I was touched by their devotion to God and to each other. She was now heartbroken that he is unresponsive, and may never wake up again, even though she continues to calmly speak to him.

I assured her that he hears her, even though he cannot respond. I know this from doing so many EEGs on patients just like him over the years. I told her how the brain waves change even in an unresponsive patient, whenever a loved one speaks to them, and she felt better, having peace knowing he still hears her.

Then she shared her guilt of being unsure if she made the right decision to place him on hospice. I shared a saying taught by a wise counselor of my Grief support classes after my husband passed away: 

“You did the best you could with what you knew at the time.” 

She liked that saying so much, she grabbed paper and a pen to write it down. I ended up spending an hour with her, which is the longest I’ve ever spent with anyone during that ministry over the years. I prayed for her husband, we hugged each other and then I left. 

That day started out as if someone interrupted my routine plan to visit the 8th floor, but interruptions are not always due to people. The Holy Spirit had a purpose and sent me to the 4th floor, instead. 

The Lord saw the tender heart inside a burly, tough exterior of a certain man, knowing his whole story and surrounding him with God’s love. He heard the prayers of a lonely blind woman lying in the darkness of her hospital bed and sent her a visitor. He knew the faith of a lady grieving for her dying husband, and consoled her, by giving her peace and the assurance that everything is okay, because He is there with them both. 

Lord, we praise you for being an all knowing God, who is abounding with lovingkindness for us. Thank you for your divine purpose that wisely prevails over our own plans. Amen

“For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”

2 Corinthians 1:5 (NIV)

The New Testament makes it very clear how the Christian life works. Whatever we receive from God, we are to share with others. That also goes for the comfort He gives us. Once we experience God’s comfort during a difficult time, we are meant to share it with someone else. 

Every person has a unique gift and calling, which is placed in them at birth. We are not expected to be like someone else, but to discover who we are meant to be. I cannot expect to be like my two older brothers, a Physics professor and an Aerospace engineer, since science was not my greatest interest, as it was for them.

I was a day dreamer, and an artistic creative kind of child. I used to spend hours making little books and drawing pictures on each page, adding words to tell a story and then stapling it together so that someone could turn the pages and read it through.

I never imagined that sixty five years later, I’d be writing daily meditations, but God knew. He patiently waits for years until we discover the gift He wants to use in us. It wasn’t until after becoming a widow, that I discovered my love for writing.  

During that time, God comforted me in many ways, through my faith and I started to write about it. In time, a tragic event can lead us to discover a new purpose. As someone once said, “The eye must shed tears in order to find its focus.”

The comfort we find in hardship, through our faith, leads us to comfort others through some gift that God uses in us. We are all on a mission of finding our gift in every stage of life. There is a gift of offering friendship to a person during a critical time. There is a gift of teaching and sharing wisdom that stays with a person for a lifetime. Some have a gift of discernment that gives insight into the sadness of others. There are those who have musical gifts, a talent to create, sing or play an instrument, which touches many hearts. All gifts were placed in us at birth, even the gifts that lied dormant for years.

Those little books that I stapled together as a child, were like an early hint of what God wanted me to do later. The love of writing must have lied dormant until I became a widow in 2019. Now I plan to take 50 of my favorite meditations and publish them in a book in 2027.

We’re all here to share the comfort and compassion that we ourselves received from God. I once shared it with a resident at the Nursing home who had a history of substance abuse. Her two adult daughters have alienated her, as a result of her past addiction. Her only desire now is to hear or speak to her daughters again, before she dies. I’m calling her Jan for privacy reasons.

After Jan made many attempts to reach out and call her daughters, they kept declining her calls. She shared with me that when she was young, she used to pray and believe in God, long before her addiction to heroin destroyed her life. She now thinks God has rejected her, just as her family has. 

I told her God wants her back, and He is not finished with her yet. I tried to encourage her to pray simple prayers like,  “Jesus help me.” Then I told her I would pray that her daughters have a change of heart and one day reach out to her. 

That was three years ago, and Jan has recently been placed on hospice, since she is declining physically and mentally, but God has not forgotten Jan. A few weeks ago, her two daughters flew in from Florida together, to visit her for the first time in many years. They came with gifts of blankets, clothing and snacks, while they spent a couple days visiting her in the Nursing home. 

Jan was thrilled to finally introduce me to them, and I know that God answered her prayer. I can imagine God looking at Jan with His heart full of mercy, then touching her daughters’ hearts, by bringing them back into her life. It was the greatest gift of comfort that she needed most, especially now.

God is patient and no matter how long it takes, He answers prayer and softens hard hearts as He did with Jan’s daughters. He longs to comfort us, and once we receive His comfort, He hopes we will help someone else receive the same comfort. 

Lord, help us to comfort others as you have comforted us, and use the gifts that are unused within us, to encourage others. Amen 

“Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.”

Acts 20:9-12 (NIV)

This is an unusual story, with a bizarre sequence of events. Paul was preaching to a church full of people on the third floor level of a building. A young man named Eutychus, was sitting in the window, falling asleep during Paul’s sermon. As the young man fell asleep, he fell out of the window, three stories down and died.

Paul quickly ran downstairs and held the dead boy in his arms, assuring everyone that the boy will live. He prayed for him, and the boy came back to life, which amazed everyone and they praised God for the miracle. 

Then Paul returned to that third floor congregation and resumed serving communion to them. He remained teaching and preaching through the night, until daylight the next morning.

The boy’s name was Eutychus, which is pronounced Uticus, in English. It means ‘fortunate’ in Greek. Eutychus was very fortunate, since he was brought back to life after a deadly fall, and just in time for communion. 

Scripture says that Eutychus fell into a sound sleep as Paul talked ‘on and on.’ The young boy was obviously drowsy, but there is another kind of drowsiness that Peter wrote about. He warns about spiritual drowsiness, telling the church to keep alert and stay sober minded. We are easily distracted by things that shift our focus away from God, gradually dulling our spiritual senses. 

(1 Peter 5:8)

The drowsiness of our spiritual awareness comes when we isolate ourselves and withdraw from others, while facing grief, illness or anxiety of some kind. There is something very therapeutic about telling God how we really feel, whether we are angry, sad, fearful or totally hopeless. Instead of trying to say all the proper words, reciting prayers that we think God wants to hear, true inner healing begins with honesty. It also helps to  share with a community that knows our burdens and prays for one another.

Even Jesus was honest enough to ask His Father to remove the cup of suffering from Him. David lost his focus several times, but his honest conversations with God, led him back to an intimacy with Him.

After bringing Eutychus back to life, Paul returned to serving communion. He kept the focus on Christ, the key element of our redemption, the body and blood of Jesus. It reminds us that whatever we go through, we are continuously renewed in Christ.

Like Eutychus, we will have times of spiritual drowsiness where we lose focus, but we will also have many spiritual resurrections in our lifetime, where we find ourselves awakened by the embrace of Christ, and renewed by His Spirit.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. ‘Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.’ (Roman’s 8:38-39) 

Just like Eutychus, we are loved by God and will keep awakening in the arms of Christ. 

Lord, help us to stay alert and sober in spirit, so that we may know that your arms are around us and your blood has truly cleansed us. Amen