Kissed by the Spirit

“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

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Acts 4:13 (NIV)

After Pentecost, Peter and John were transformed by the Holy Spirit. They are described as ordinary men who did astonishing things. Scripture is full of examples where God seems to enjoy using ordinary people to do extraordinary things. He did it with a shepherd boy, David, who became a king. He did it with every disciple, including Mary Magdalene, who were all ordinary people, some with questionable backgrounds, who were changed and did extraordinary things through the power of God. Here is a modern day story about turning ordinary into extraordinary.

In July of 1989 an off duty airline pilot, named Denny, boarded United airlines flight 232 to take a trip from Denver to Chicago. With 296 passengers on board, at an altitude of 37,000 feet, a very loud boom was suddenly heard, and the plane lost all three of its hydraulic systems. 

Denny, the off duty pilot passenger, immediately headed to the cockpit to offer his help to the flight crew. He ended up manning the throttles while the crew prepared for an emergency landing.

Without a hydraulic system in place there’s no possible way to steer a plane, but Denny, by managing the throttles, was able to keep the plane aloft, making a series of 360 degree turns to the right as it approached the airport in Sioux City, Iowa. There was no way to decrease the speed for a landing so the passengers were told to brace for a crash landing. First responders were on site and ready for a disaster.

The plane did crash and burst into flames, but 184 people somehow survived, including the flight crew. As they exited the plane after the crash, one survivor heard a baby crying and ran back into the smoke filled plane to discover an 11 month old baby girl lying under a pile of rubble. The crash threw her body from row 11 to row 26, but she was rescued without any injuries. Most survivors had minor injuries, but miraculously, 13 people walked away with none at all. 

Sadly, 112 people died in that crash but Aeronautic experts say that the plane should not have been able to land at all. The resulting outcome was a miracle, because a plane that loses its hydraulic system in mid flight, should have nose dived straight into the ground. 

This brings us back to Denny, the ordinary off duty pilot passenger, who was on that particular flight, only because he changed flights earlier that morning. He was the key player in a miraculous landing of a plane with no hydraulic system, saving 184 lives, including children and babies. 

Denny had no more flight hours or experience than the flight crew who were in the cockpit and yet he made an extraordinary landing. He told reporters that he believes God put him on that plane for a purpose. There’s always a ‘God factor’ to any story that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. 

Pilots have since tried to duplicate with flight simulators, what Denny did that day, to keep a plane from nose diving, but no one has been able to replicate what he did. It is  considered to be one of the most impressive commercial airline landings in aviation history. 

Heaven certainly sent help that day, but it was through an ordinary man who was a believer, with no more flight experience than the crew. God heard his prayers and used him to save more than half of the lives on board. Denny has since passed away in 2012 from brain cancer, but I have no doubt that heaven was waiting to greet him at his final landing. 

God wants to do extraordinary things through ordinary people. Sometimes He does it by sending angels to help. On that day, it began with an ordinary man who stepped into action by faith.

Lord, thank you for people like Denny who through your grace, become an instrument in your hands to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Amen

“And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.”

Ezekiel 34:26 (RSV)

As I think about those graces that God sends us during stressful times, it’s a shower of blessing that simply comes to us in what He knows to be the ‘appointed season.’  I’ve received a few of these showers of blessing in my life, which came at the appointed season, which is better described as ‘God’s perfect timing.’

I am still touched by the blessing of a surprise retirement party back in 2023, when I retired. It could have only been a more perfect celebration if the one surgeon I worked with the most, was there, but he was out of town during the party. 

Shortly afterward, I offered to help a friend by bringing her to a doctor appointment in the office building attached to the hospital where I used to work. I prayed my favorite prayer that morning, before leaving the house, asking for God’s perfect timing in all things. I love that simple prayer because amazing things always happen when I start the day asking for perfect timing.

When my friend and I arrived, we found the last handicap parking space close to a door, which was a grace of God’s timing. As I pushed her wheelchair toward the main elevators, an elevator door opened, and there stood the one surgeon who didn’t make it to my retirement party. We were both so surprised to see each other, but the big hug and exchange of words with well wishes in the elevator, was a true shower of blessing, at the perfect time.

That single moment brought a special closure to the many hours I enjoyed working with him. I was able to say goodbye to someone I spent countless hours in surgery with, for 25 years. It was no coincidence that he was in the elevator that day, at that exact moment, because it was all part of God’s perfect timing. 

Showers of blessing and perfect timing doesn’t mean everything will  always go our way with perfection. God knows the perfect time to bring a shower of blessing, at a moment when our refreshing is most needed. 

There is a blessing of perfect timing that will come through the kindness and knowledge of a stranger on the phone, who helps us with a task we are not familiar with. God sent a lady named Katherine, in His perfect timing, who was the Illinois disability  agent assigned to my son’s case. She went the extra mile to get all the information needed, when Jon’s Nursing home gave her only vague and incomplete information. In God’s perfect timing, the right people were sent to help me and Jon through the steps of my legal guardianship. 

Some tasks are mentally and emotionally exhausting, but asking God for perfect timing will result in Him sending us the most helpful and knowledgeable people along the way, which lightens our burden. God knows the perfect time and season to send a shower of blessing when we need it most.

The Lord is attentive to every detail that concerns us. He knows all of our worries and anxieties, but sends a blessing our way, at the perfect time. He not only meets our practical needs but He knows the unspoken desires of our heart. He blessed me at the perfect time, on the day I met the surgeon in the elevator, so we could finally say goodbye to each other.

Lord, thank you for helping us with every task, for knowing the desires of our heart, and for the showers of blessing you send us in your perfect timing. Amen

“Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Matthew 17:27 (NIV)

Not many sermons are preached on this strange but interesting story in Matthew’s gospel. If God can have a specific fish ready at the right time, with the exact amount of money in its mouth, to meet a monetary need, the message must be that God will  help us meet our financial obligations.

Peter, James and John had just witnessed the transfiguration. Their hearts were stirred in awe at hearing the voice of God on that mountain top. Right after that, their faith was increased even more by seeing Jesus cast a demon out of a young boy.

While still enjoying all these spiritual highs, Peter was approached by the temple tax collectors who came to tell him that taxes were due from Peter and Jesus. Every Hebrew adult male was obligated to pay an annual temple tax for upkeep of the temple. 

Hearing that money was due had to be a spiritual damper while they were still filled with the awe of what they had just experienced. It’s a reminder for us that mountain top experiences are inspiring but we still have to return to real life obligations.

Peter went from having a glimpse of heaven, hearing God’s voice, and witnessing miracles, to being asked to pay his temple tax bill that was due. He hurried to tell Jesus about it, knowing he had no money to pay it. Jesus calmly told Peter to go to the sea, drop in a hook and the first fish he catches will have the exact amount that is due, inside its mouth. Peter did it and found a four drachma coin in the fish’s mouth, just as Jesus predicted, and paid their taxes.

It’s a great story to inspire faith in God’s financial provision, but there has to be a meaning beyond trusting God to help us meet our financial obligations.

Peter, a fisherman, was told to go to the sea and catch a fish, a process which he was already familiar with as a fisherman. If Peter was a baker, Jesus might have told him to look inside the next loaf of bread he baked. God works His blessings through what is familiar to our daily routines.  We learn that God works through whatever we are most familiar with. 

Some blessings come through the mouth of those who are a part of our daily routine. It could be through the advice, words or conversations we have with the people we work with or meet throughout the day. 

The blessings we receive over time come out of our sea. It consists of our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors, who are the fish that God placed in our sea, for a purpose. 

God’s blessings may not always be obvious at first, since they can come through the prayers, conversations, and friendships of others, over time. God also sends us to be the fish in other people’s sea, using us to bless them as well.

We cannot take much with us when we leave this present life, but every relationship remains in our hearts forever. Most blessings are apparent  but others are hidden, until we look into the mouth of the fish that God brought into our sea. Relationships in our lifetime are the fabrics woven into our souls, and will always be with us. It might be something that someone once said, taught, or the example they left with us, which helped to form who we are today. 

I have a first cousin, Barbara, who I lost touch with for four decades. As children we were close and our families spent a lot of time together. Barbara moved as a young adult to northern California where she has lived with her husband and two daughters in a San Francisco suburb. Our mothers both passed away many years ago, and neither of us kept in touch or traveled to see each other. 

When Barbara heard about Jon’s accident three years ago, she quickly reached out to me. We reconnected and revived our relationship so that we now text and communicate pretty regularly. We are both convinced that our mothers brought us back together. 

Whether it is people who we see on a daily basis, or those who live a long distance away, or loved ones who have passed away, they are all the fish that God brought into our sea. Their example, prayers, words, love and friendship is forever woven into the character of our own souls.

Lord, thank you for sending people as blessings into our lives, and for sending us into their lives, according to your timing and holy purpose. Amen

“Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”

Ephesians 3:20 (RSV)

After my son’s brain surgery for a skull fracture and brain bleed in 2023, the neurosurgeon told me that however he is around 18 months after the accident, would be how he remains. At that time, Jon didn’t speak at all, wore a diaper, was fed through a stomach tube and was receiving physical therapy to learn to walk. 

It has been three years since his motorcycle accident and traumatic brain injury, which is far beyond the 18 months. Jon now walks on his own (with a limp), feeds himself, speaks clearly once in a while and recently started using the toilet. His right arm is still paralyzed but he puts slippers on his feet, and deodorant under his arm, using his left hand. Yesterday he walked over to a nurse assistant and asked, “Can you cut my nails?” The nurse assistant was shocked since Jon seldom says words that are understandable. So he granted his request and cut his nails. 

When I visited him the day after, I heard about this and said, “Jon, I heard you got your nails cut”, and he nodded and lifted his hand to show me. His speech and comprehension are still slow but progress is ongoing, which far surpasses his prognosis. 

A few years earlier, I met the mother of another resident in his early forties, nearly the same age as Jon. Her son had kidney failure which began as a child, and he was now in dire need of a kidney transplant. He was admitted to receive dialysis treatments, but he refused to stop smoking, so a transplant was not in the near future for him. At the time, my son was unable to walk at all, sitting in a chair, with a feeding tube in his stomach, and a breathing tube in his throat, unable to speak. 

As the two of us mothers were chatting during our visit that day, her son had an angry outburst towards another resident. She looked at me and I looked at her, and without a word, we communicated. She knew I felt her embarrassment and frustration about his behavior. We understood each other since we both had adult sons with serious medical problems, far beyond our control. It was as if we shared a bond of understanding which required no further words.

When I left that day, we happened to meet in the parking lot, even though she left a few minutes before me. She asked me if she could pray for Jon, and we held hands and prayed for each other’s sons. After saying goodbye, we never saw each other again, since her son was discharged, a few months later to live in his own. 

I’ll never forget that day and our brief connection with a moment of prayer in the parking lot. I pray for her son but never saw him or his mom again. God answered many prayers for Jon, since that day, and I hope He did for her son as well. 

God reveals His presence in our lives by bringing certain people together. Sometimes it’s only for a moment of prayer in a parking lot. Other times, He brings people together as friends for a longer time, like the parents of Andy, a man near the same age as Jon. Andy has been in the facility as long as Jon has, and he has also come a long way in the past three years. 

God works in mysterious ways, by networking people together, since He fully understands what we are going through. He works in ways, beyond what we could ever ask or imagine. 

As scripture tells us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, and 

his mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning.”

(Lamentations 3:22-23)

Lord, thank you for showing us your love us during the difficult times, by bringing special people into our lives. Amen