Pebbles with a Purpose
(Please note that this was written several years ago, but still has relevancy for our lives today.)
Yesterday, my middle son, Jason, who is deployed in Afghanistan, called home. I look forward to each call, but for some reason, had him on my mind the evening before and. when I heard his voice, I cried. I know he will come home. My fears are a mother's- fears. I want him to be happy. I want him to be warm. I want him to be full and I never, ever, want him to be lonely.
I rest assured he is in God's protective embrace.
Prior to deploying, I made sure he had packed the Bible I marked for him to take to boot camp. It had the same passages I had marked for his eldest brother when he too, left for boot camp. Joseph had the occasion to begin a study group for recruits and I had high hopes for Jason and his Bible as well! Armed with these passages:
~ John 3:16
~ The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12
~ The 10 Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-17)
I also marked several familiar "children's stories" for the boys. Stories that when read as men, are much more than stories - they become promises.
Jason is a corpsman and he is stationed in a remote region with a rather small contingent of Americans at a joint base with Georgians. It is not a glamorous base and because they are small in number, a Chaplain is not among them on a regular basis. It was important to me to remind Jason that the patients he saw might need much more than their wounds tended to - he might be called to provide succor for their souls as well.
Jason is in an extreme situation, which we may never encounter, however, many ill winds swirl around us today. It is easy to focus on war and economics, crime and pollution, politicians, and loneliness. There are no easy answers. Some days, I would like to withdraw completely, but I feel that each of us is a pebble. PEBBLES WITH A PURPOSE.
While here on earth, we are called to be kind to each other - in minute and not so minute ways - making small ripples in our pond and sometimes large SPLASHES by our gentleness and loving. The catch is, that we, for the most part, NEVER know when we ripple or SPLASH!
We just find the courage to carry on through the truth we KNOW about God's love that it is miraculously and flawlessly given to us to pass to others. It is a promise kept with no strings. Everyday. Just for YOU. Pass it on.
"I HAVE LOVED YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE. I HAVE DRAWN YOU WITH LOVING-KINDNESS." Jeremiah 31:3
I rest assured he is in God's protective embrace.
Prior to deploying, I made sure he had packed the Bible I marked for him to take to boot camp. It had the same passages I had marked for his eldest brother when he too, left for boot camp. Joseph had the occasion to begin a study group for recruits and I had high hopes for Jason and his Bible as well! Armed with these passages:
~ John 3:16
~ The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12
~ The 10 Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-17)
I also marked several familiar "children's stories" for the boys. Stories that when read as men, are much more than stories - they become promises.
Jason is a corpsman and he is stationed in a remote region with a rather small contingent of Americans at a joint base with Georgians. It is not a glamorous base and because they are small in number, a Chaplain is not among them on a regular basis. It was important to me to remind Jason that the patients he saw might need much more than their wounds tended to - he might be called to provide succor for their souls as well.
Jason is in an extreme situation, which we may never encounter, however, many ill winds swirl around us today. It is easy to focus on war and economics, crime and pollution, politicians, and loneliness. There are no easy answers. Some days, I would like to withdraw completely, but I feel that each of us is a pebble. PEBBLES WITH A PURPOSE.
While here on earth, we are called to be kind to each other - in minute and not so minute ways - making small ripples in our pond and sometimes large SPLASHES by our gentleness and loving. The catch is, that we, for the most part, NEVER know when we ripple or SPLASH!
We just find the courage to carry on through the truth we KNOW about God's love that it is miraculously and flawlessly given to us to pass to others. It is a promise kept with no strings. Everyday. Just for YOU. Pass it on.
"I HAVE LOVED YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE. I HAVE DRAWN YOU WITH LOVING-KINDNESS." Jeremiah 31:3
Thank you for posting!
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