TRANSITIONING BEAUTY

 

TRANSITION

Our bodies have been changing from the moment of conception.  Every character line and scar are testaments to a life well lived.  Resisting those changes only detracts from embracing the inevitable transition to our earned elder status in our circle of influence.  

Growing old gracefully is the best response to the inevitable passage of relentless time.

And somewhere on that journey, the lines of beauty cross as the radiance of the soul eclipses bodily features.

LIFE LESSONS

 

Field of Dreams, Jamestown, NC

I recently happened upon some parting thoughts by Donna Ashworth whom I do not know, but I related to many of her observations on a life well lived and it prompted me to consider a few of my own:

We are born three times:  the day of our first breath, the day we figure out why we were born and the day our spirit is homeward bound on our last breath. 

Growing old gracefully is the best revenge.  We know it’s inevitable so why try to live against the wind?  Everyone dies, but not everyone lives to the fullest.  Embrace life as the adventure that awaits us with every day’s challenges and joys.  Wouldn’t the world be so much brighter if we took the time to see a person’s soul and not their outward appearance?

Don’t burn daylight being concerned about other people’s opinion of you because they are quite probably more self-centered and less confident--and it was never about you anyway.  If you can’t be kind, learn to be quiet.

Only one man ever walked this planet in perfection.  He spent three years of intense teaching to show us how to live to strive for such an unreachable goal and left us with the beautiful concept of grace.  If someone cuts you off in traffic, let them go and cool your jets.  You never know what they are dealing with at the time and it’s probably best not to get in the middle of it.

Chasing happiness is elusive, as its reward is obtained from external stimuli like buying stuff and the effect wears off the second the price tags are removed.  But joy can be found internally, without the need for things of this world.

Many folks only see and comment on what others do wrong.  Surprise people by catching them doing something right and acknowledging it!  A simple handwritten “Thank You” note works wonders because so few people do it.

Just about anything we do in excess as we traverse this life is damaging.  Anything in moderation is preferable.  Replace stress and worry with joy and peace.  Many things in life are out of our control except one thing—our response.  Leave the rest to our Heavenly Father and try again in the morning.

We’re a curious human species.  We see in life what we look for in life.  If we look for negatives, we’ll find them and the same is true for positives.  A headline reading “dog bites man” won’t get our attention, but “man bites dog” will always do the trick.  “If it bleeds, it leads” is a mantra that has stood the test of time.

Always drink the good wine and use the good dishes.  Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. Live a life that plans for the future, learns from the past, and fully embraces the present, for that is all we’re guaranteed and where life is played out. Try to leave your sphere of influence a little better than you found it and encourage others to help heal the brokenness.  One simple act of kindness trumps a thousand platitudes.

EARN THIS. EARN IT!

 

Captain Miller and Private Ryan

Observations on Veteran’s Day 2021

Veterans Day was established on November 11 to recognize all veterans who honorably served in the U.S. military.  It acknowledges the armistice ending WWI which took effect on 11-11-1918 at 11:00 am.  Ed Rees. a congressman from Emporia, Kansas and a contemporary of my grandfather Ed Davis from Emporia, introduced a bill to make the date a federal holiday.  It was signed into law in 1954 by another Kansas native, President Eisenhower.

My great uncle returned home to Kansas suffering the ill effects of the trench gas of WWI and two uncles never recovered from the horrors of war suffered in the Pacific campaign of WWII, leaving my grandparents with the distinction of being Gold Star parents.

I graduated college and immediately began working as an Industrial Engineer at a Hercules solid rocket propellant plant at the outset of the Vietnam War.  My draft papers arrived as the war was winding down and were subsequently cancelled, so I was never exposed to war combat.  Just returning to the D-Day invasion and the fateful battle of Ramelle at the end of the renowned film, Saving Private Ryan, on the cusp of another Veterans Day remembrance was enough of an emotional roller coaster that I cannot imagine what any veteran experienced in actual combat.

The greatest generation that lived through the Great Depression and won WWII is now all but gone.  I witnessed a deplaning honor flight in Washington DC years ago and it was very emotional.  Many were just then beginning to tell their story.  And it would be a great travesty to forget their immense sacrifice.  Every generation has their own unique challenges and one of ours is to constantly remind ourselves that freedom is but one generation away from being lost.  And freedom is not free.

Captain Miller and his band of brothers we sent on a mission after D-Day to locate and bring back Private James Ryan, whose three brothers had all been killed in action.  He had been ordered to return to his mother’s side on an Iowa farm as her only surviving son.  The film opens with an elderly Private Ryan visiting the Normandy Cemetery at the cross of Captain Miller who saved Ryan’s life but lost his.  Captain Miller’s dying words to Ryan were “James.  Earn this.  Earn it.”  The gut-wrenching response at the grave site as his family stood aside was “I’ve tried to live my life the best that I could.  I hope it was enough.”  The film switches back to this scene at the end when Ryan’s wife approaches and he implores her “Tell me I’m a good man.”  His wife replies, “You are.”

Small acts of decency in the hellish horrors of combat can be the only saving grace of humanity.  On the 11/11/2021 observation of Veteran’s Day, may we all understand the sacrifice that has carried us to this day. 

And vow to “Earn This.  Earn It!” 

OPENING SCENE:

https://youtu.be/0HUf68gFGEE

ENDING SCENE:

https://youtu.be/IZgoufN99n8

WASHING FEET

Washing Feet, Internet

IT MAY BE FRIDAY, BUT SUNDAY’S COMING!

Just before the Passover Feast on Thursday, Jesus got up from the table and “he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet.” (John 13:5) to demonstrate his love for them and their future roles as servant leaders. 

And he was forgiving them in advance because he had foreseen their human frailty demonstrated by their desertion, betrayal and denials early the next day, Black Friday.  Then the land turned dark from noon to three in the afternoon when he breathed his last on that cruel Roman cross, securing grace for even those who would not be born for over 2,000 years later.

“Darkness fell, His friends scattered, hope seemed lost - But heaven just started counting to three”. —Bob Goff

“We are an Easter people living in a Good Friday world.

The real miracle of the Easter resurrection isn’t that God could do it.  It’s that God would do it.” —Pastor David Greene

The resurrection of Easter validates that “the worst thing is never the last thing”.

 

DRIVE THRU GRACE

Drive Thru, Greensboro, NC

We’ve all heard about “drive by shootings” on the news these troubling days, but this morning I experienced “drive thru grace”!  I’m certain that in this day and age, I have literally spent over a hundred hours in fast food drive thru automobile lines.  And the vast majority of those ill spent hours were boring and uneventful and quite probably had some influence on my heart attack years ago.  But there have been a few that stand out in my mind like today’s experience. 

Not long after Karen and I were married, we traded for a new Oldsmobile Cutlass.  I really liked that car and it was one of the best automobiles I had ever driven.  We pulled into a fast food drive thru line to order a quick meal during the crowded dinner hour one evening.  An elderly woman ahead of us was having trouble communicating with the squawk box, so she was maneuvering her big Buick back and forth in a fruitless effort to place her order.  As it seemed that she had finally established communication with the teenager inside, I noticed that her last move had been in reverse, since her backup lights were still switched on.  I quickly glanced in my rear view mirror to check out my options, but we were inescapably trapped in line!  Then as we gasped in horror, the woman hit the accelerator to advance backwards and demolished my front grill assembly.

 After a few seconds I gathered my wits and reconciled the situation as a simple matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with no malice on the part of the emotional driver ahead of us.  We offered our assurances that accidents happen and exchanged pleasantries and insurance policy numbers.

This morning I was once again confronted with a young lady in a silver Dodge Charger ahead of me in line at Starbucks.  She had sort of cut me off to enter the drive thru line off the main street and I noticed that my car was now the last to clear the street in the full capacity line.  And it wasn’t helping that now the Charger was staying at least one half a car’s length behind the car in front of it.  I inched as close as possible to the Charger in order to provide room for the car behind me while grumbling all the while.  You know there are unwritten rules for operating in drive thru lines!    This actually continued all the way to the window.  As I watched the Charger finally moving away, the cashier informed me that the car ahead had paid my bill. 

There I sat after spending the past 5-10 minutes grumbling to myself at the stranger looking in her rear view mirror.  I was offering derision and she had offered grace.  I had no other response than to offer to pay for the car behind me.  The cashier let me know that this bill was half of mine.  When I arrived back home to finish the handout for a class I’ll be facilitating on the Gospel in Life, Grace Changes Everything, it occurred to me that somebody had just reminded me to stay graceful by personally delivering the same message to me.

Wouldn’t it be great is there was a drive thru dispensing grace?  Well actually, there is such a place with no lines even though many are served.  And the good news is that the price has been paid by One who has gone before us!   

             

CHECKING OUT

                                 Early Spring Sunrise, Jamestown, NC

An article in USA TODAY caught my attention recently about a hospice doctor that was facing end-stage pancreatic cancer himself.  Both he and his wife had some very insightful thoughts and readily admitted that the experience had become surreal for them.  That was also how I felt when my wife was going through end-stage breast cancer.  And I really identified with how this couple was handling themselves with grace, gratitude and thanks living.

The doctor had previously written that “Life is to be embraced.  Yet death, whenever it comes to each of us, is as natural as the rising of the sun.  We spend so much money and emotional turmoil staving off death, even for minutes or hours, beyond all hope, often beyond reason.”  Our youth-oriented society tends to err on the side of total denial that mortal life is finite.  He noted that medical intervention has a role to play in improving those final days, but as we too learned, there are limits to the adverse misery in those precious final days VS the benefits of some procedures.

The couple counsels that an advance directive needs to be in place so your doctors and family don’t have to guess or argue about your wishes.  Then you can mourn together, share the loss together, not worry about decisions, and also be grateful together for your presence in each other’s life.  That enables everyone including the caretaker and the patient to continue to live and enables one to check out gracefully with the hope and full knowledge that death is merely a transition from time to eternity spent with our loved ones and our Creator.

I’m grateful to understand that once we come to terms with this reality, the life we’ve been given can truly be lived to the fullest without fear of death in honor of those who have gracefully made the transition.

STRENGTHENING OUR LIVES

Sunrise Exercise, Body & Spirit, Kiawah Island, SC

Supervised physical therapy was a very critical aspect for the replacement of both my knee joints. I had known of others that complained the procedure hadn’t given them a whole lot of mobility, but they had also admitted that the difficult therapy caused them too much pain, so they didn’t finish the recovery process. Irreversible scar tissue immediately begins to form in the affected areas which is why it is so important to immediately begin physical therapy and overcome it. Also, my orthopedic doctor counseled me that I would know when to come back in for the operation based on how debilitating the joint would become. Since it is a natural reaction to favor a bum knee, we also allow the muscles and tendons around the joint to atrophy and they need to be stretched back into a stronger state that supports the joint. No pain, no gain!

All the above dictates that we begin physical therapy immediately after an operation. And the process sends natural pain signals to the brain that this area is experiencing some trauma. Normally, we associate these signals with something that is causing harm to our body and we react to neutralize the cause. But thankfully, I received a great reverse key thought from my therapist that sustained me to the end of a successful recovery. Her experience led her to remind me to focus on what was really going on in my body. She told me to focus on the key understanding that the perceived negative signals I was receiving were simply my body and brain communicating that I was experiencing “the process of weakness leaving my body”, being replaced by strength. This also applies to regular exercise and the consequences of ignoring it.

The process is definitely in play for our spirits. I still maintain that the only explanation for living in a broken world is the free will our Creator bestowed on us so that our relationships would be real. This was a big risk that could have only been made by a Creator that wanted us to grow in his created image. Creating beings that don’t have the free will to accept or reject doesn’t allow for the possibility of genuine love. Allowing us to make our own good or bad choices requires an environment in which they exist. I believe it didn’t have to be that way. We could have been created for eternal worship and left in a perfect environment, as other beings created before us. But genuine unconditional love requires work and good choices. It also requires grace when we imperfect beings fall. Love is strengthened when pain enters our lives and we have the desire and relationship that drives us to work through the trauma together.

CIVIL DISCOURSE

Civil Protest, Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

I drove through Starbucks on my way home from the gym and ordered a coffee and a "cold" cranberry-orange scone for tomorrow's breakfast. The sweet disembodied speaker voice responded, "OK, would you like that warmed?" At least a dozen replies immediately raced through my brain, overloading millions of synapses. Sometimes we listen to learn and sometimes we listen to reply. Then civil discourse prevailed and I simply said, "No, cold please." I'm admittedly no model of behavior, but wouldn't it be nice if all our politicians and celebrities just put it on pause for a change? We can agree to disagree without being disagreeable.

About sixty-three million people in the United States recently voted for Trump and sixty-six million people voted for Clinton. A Hollywood actress just used an artistic achievement show as bully pulpit (ironically a term coined by President Theodore Roosevelt) to call out the bullying behavior of the president-elect and set off a national firestorm on social media. One defender reminded folks of the bully behavior towards an opposing candidate by his own party. Another observer stated that divisive language attempts to divide us but it only serves to unite us (into two polarized factions!). Scanning these comments was disheartening as both sides were name blaming and disrespecting one another like an out-of-control second-grade class with a substitute teacher. Einstein warned us that technology had outran our humanity and the founding father of our country admonished us saying “every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.” Welcome to the new digital social world where it’s too easy to say things to other brothers that we would never say to their face with thousands of people present.

You know, it’s possible that a “canary in the coal mine” that we should all pay attention to is the trending lack of attendance in our country’s churches. It just may be reflecting the state of our culture as well. Paul issued a warning about this condition in his letter to the Galatians (5:15), “If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” Since Paul addressed this problem over two thousand years ago, I guess it’s safe to say that it’s not a new problem. And that gives us hope that it’s a problem that has solutions. Dwight Currie observed that “we have a choice about how we behave, and that means we have the choice to opt for civility and grace.”

George Elliot, aka Mary Anne Evans, ended her greatest novel, Middlemarch, celebrating those who lead humble, everyday lives; “the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who live faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” Elaine A. Heath is the dean of Duke Divinity School and she writes in her book God Unbound that “The strongest quality a congregation can exhibit in the community is to love well—within and beyond the walls of the church.” I think that also goes for a country and a world. François Fenelon noted that “all wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.”

SWALLOWTAILS & DRAGONFLIES HAIKU

Swallowtail Butterfly & Dragonfly, Summerfield, NC


TRANSFORMATION
To become a butterfly you must have a desire for flight that is passionate
enough to enable you to sacrifice your life as a caterpillar.

Blue pickerel plants,
swallowtails and dragonflies,
line the summer lake.

Lavender-blue spikes,
and glossy green leaves abound,
under lazy clouds.

Earthbound at the start,
swallowtails and dragonflies,
transition with grace.

The flying spirits,
symbolize transformation,
accepting changes.

The power of light,
reveals beautiful colors,
reflected by wings.

When they touch your life,
swallowtails and dragonflies,
renew your spirit!

VEIL OF GRACE HAIKU

White Shadows, Jamestown, NC

The veil of nightfall,
casts its net of dark shadows,
over the still land.

Woodland creatures pause,
and settle down for the night,
as daylight recedes.

White azaleas,
slowly cover their faces,
with the veil of grace.

MOST DESIRABLE WORDS

Fellowship Meal, Sea of Galilee, Israel

Philip Yancey in his book on Vanishing Grace relates the results of a survey in which Americans were asked what words they would most like to hear. The first choice was predictable; “I love you”. We were made in the image of a God who is defined by love for all creation, including all of us. He wants us to thrive and we need to look no further than the cross to understand the depths of that love.

The second choice was “I forgive you.” In an act of moral justice and unconditional love God became flesh and blood to offer himself as a sacrifice of radical grace so that we could be forgiven, no matter what we may have done in our life.

Finally, a rather surprising third choice of words Americans would most like to hear was “Supper’s ready!” Our God is a relational divine presence as witnessed in the triune godhead at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River near the Sea of Galilee. We humans enjoy fellowship around the dinner table and enjoy each other’s company. Jesus constantly engaged others around meals and feasts including his first miracle at a wedding feast, feeding the 5,000 and of course, his last supper has been immortalized! And our natural response to the blessings we receive in life is to offer ourselves as willing clay vessel dispensers of God’s grace to a world thirsty for love, forgiveness and fellowship.

GRACE BY THE SEA

Grace, Tabgha, Israel

As you might imagine, any visit to spiritual sites is generally crowded with other pilgrims. Two of these sites that I was most interested in experiencing are located on the northwestern shores of the Sea of Galilee. A Spanish pilgrim, Egeria, wrote about them in 380:

“Not far away from there (Capernaum) are some stone steps where the Lord stood. And in the same place by the sea is a grassy field with plenty of hay and many palm trees. By them are seven springs, each flowing strongly. And this is the field where the Lord fed the people with the five loaves and two fishes. In fact the stone on which the Lord placed the bread has now been made into an altar. Past the walls of this church goes the public highway on which the Apostle Matthew had his place of custom. Near there on a mountain is a cave to which the Savior climbed and spoke the Beatitudes.”

Most all of the historical sites where Jesus lived and performed miracles have been preserved by building churches over them. The good news is that they now preserve approximate locations for pilgrims to gain an intimate sense of the momentous events that occurred over 2,000 years ago around the Son of God. The bad news is that in many cases, the unspoiled natural area has generally been obscured. Since so few people recognized His true nature until after the fact, hardly anyone immediately commemorated the sites and the sands of time obscured many of them. But then, there seems to have been a master plan to leave only His Word, which is all we really need anyway. So you must come to these places with an open mind to simply reflect and meditate on the significance of the event in this Holy Land.

We waited outside the Roman Catholic Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish while other groups were gathered inside the small sanctuary. Some groups were gathered outside on the outer veranda overlooking the Sea of Galilee and singing impromptu hymns. Since childhood I listened to Sunday school teachers tell of how Jesus performed the miracle of receiving five loaves of bread and two fish from a small boy who was willing to share all he had to eat with the crowd of five thousand. And it’s quite feasible that the one who was involved in the creation of the universe simply multiplied them so that the large gathering was fed. After all, he had also initiated his three year ministry by turning the sacramental water in large clay jars into the finest wine the wedding steward had ever tasted. But I also believe that it may be even more difficult to turn the hearts of men to generous sharing with those who are in need. The many pilgrims in the crowd may have quite possibly been moved to open their hearts and baskets in response to the generosity that Jesus demonstrated to them.

Our group was finally able to enter the church and experience the simple stone alter over a large rock outcropping that tradition says Jesus stood on to bless the offering before sharing it with the multitude. We all took a few photographs, paused awhile in this spiritual place and then began to disperse outside to make room for others. Because visiting this location was one of my primary reasons for making this long journey, I lingered behind to fully take in the experience and study the ancient mosaic of two fish and four loaves in front of the alter. We’re told that we are still receiving the fifth loaf.

When I turned to leave, I became aware of a nun quietly lighting candles just behind me. I hadn’t heard her approaching and she didn’t speak to disturb me. I didn’t realize it at the time, but somehow we were the only two beings present in the church. I silently took a photograph of her lighting the candles to commemorate the moment. She turned and gestured without speaking to take my photograph by the candles. So I gave her my camera and she returned the favor. It hadn’t occurred to me to document my presence in this place that I had been studying for quite some time. I thanked her and left the empty sanctuary refreshed to catch up with my friends as another group arrived.

I believe that the lines between angelic beings and people being angelic become blurred at times. I believe that God is still a very living presence among us and His grace is still dispensed through those willing to be vessels for others. It seems plausible that angelic beings also walk among us dispensing that grace. Our sixth sense may even detect their presence at times.

CHANNELING GRACE

Intercoastal Channel, Wrightsville Beach, NC

Physical channels like the beds where natural streams of water are directed facilitate the delivery of life-giving water all over our planet. Power lines facilitate the delivery of energy in the form of electricity to power all sorts of devices in our lives. The Internet is a wonderful example of networks channeling information and ideas around the world.

Physicians are excellent examples of human beings that channel God’s healing power to others. Surgeons who have witnessed countless miracles of healing understand that they bandage the wounds but God heals them. In ancient times a small cut or wound could easily be terminal once it became infectious. Today, we’ve been given the miracle of antibiotics and new medical practices that are now so commonplace that we don’t even think twice about the miracle of healing that takes place within our own bodies. There’s no telling how many second chances at life we’ve already experienced.

When folks decry the perceived absence of God in their daily lives or the suffering of others, many cry out for God to do something. But in most cases he has done something—he created you and me. We too can become channels of resources, energy, compassion and grace. We manifest and channel God’s grace when we work to heal broken bodies and spirits, making a difference in other lives.

OUR NET WORTH

Crumpled Lincoln, Jamestown, NC

This morning’s message by pastor Jim was that “If your past is calling, don’t bother to answer. It has nothing new to say”! I thought this was nicely illustrated by holding up a crisp $5.00 bill and asking for a show of hands by everyone who would like to have it. Most everybody responded. After all, who can resist found money? But then, the bill was wadded up and wrinkled almost beyond recognition. Again the offer was extended and most everyone responded. Then the bill was dropped to the floor and ground under foot with the same result.

The point was driven home that no matter how much the bill had been abused and disfigured, it still kept its value. And that is the point when it comes to our relationship with God. Jesus illustrated the concept in his parable of the prodigal son who squanders his youth and fortune, but is welcomed back into his father’s arms when he repents and seeks a new life. It validates my favorite definition of grace--there’s nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less to receive His priceless gift of grace and unconditional love.

THE FIRST BENEFICIARIES OF BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday, Internet Domain

As we start the season of Lent and move toward holy week, Good Friday looms ahead prior to Easter Sunday. I prefer to use the alternative name for that day which occurred over two thousand years ago as Black Friday. The sun stopped shining and darkness came over the whole land for three hours in the middle of that day as all nature mourned the impending death of its Creator. For the first time in all creation, the Father was temporarily separated from relationship with the Son. The temple curtain was torn apart in that hour. The curtain symbolically separated the court of the people and the Most Holy Place where only the high priest could enter once a year to atone for the sins of the people. Now, Jesus’ death removed the barrier between human beings and God so that His sacrifice could pave the way for the atonement of all sins and the promise of eternal life through the grace of God.

Just before Jesus was condemned to death on a Roman cross, however, a man named Barabbas had also been condemned to death. It was a Passover custom for the Roman ruler to pardon one prisoner. Barabbas had been convicted as a revolutionary insurgent and murderer. Interestingly, he was guilty of the same false charge against Jesus. Finding no fault with Jesus, Pilate offered the riotous crowd either Jesus or Barabbas to be set free; assuming they would chose the obvious guilty man. But Barabbas was spared certain death on that day and given new life while Jesus was sent to the cross in his place.

The names of many Jewish men of the day were derived from their father’s name. Interestingly, Bar means “son of” and Abba means “father”. Barabbas could be the son of any father--you or me. Jesus was crucified with two condemned men also dying on either side of him. One hurled insults but the other recognized His divinity and pleaded for him to "remember me when you come into your kingdom". And Jesus answered him; "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise". Only this one man was able to see beyond the seeming devastation of the cross to the triumph of the eternal Kingdom of God. As he breathed his last on the cross, Jesus softly spoke, “Father (Abba), into your hands I commit my spirit”.

We are all sons and daughters of our eternal Abba and after the events of Black Friday, we are all now the beneficiaries of His priceless grace. Grace means there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. We only have to look to the cross to understand the full measure of His love. The condemned Barabbas was given a pardon for a second chance at mortal life, but the unknown dying man on Calvary received a last minute reprieve for eternal life!

WINTER WILLOW SUNRISE

Winter Willow Sunrise, Jamestown, NC

Brilliant morning sunrays are absorbed and then manifest God’s grace in the highlighted golden branches of a leafless weeping willow tree on the bank of a small neighborhood winter pond heralding a new day, a New Year and new beginnings.

MOONLIT GRACE

December Moon Risin', Jamestown, NC

A quiet winter’s night with a full moon rising can be a very graceful experience. Whenever we attempt to describe a human emotion that’s elicited by the sensory overload of the ways we perceive our surroundings, the words never seem adequate. Sometimes we’re simply left to use word images that we and others can relate to in our common life experience. Bright sunlight and sunbeams can be a great analogy for the love that The Light of the World directly imparts on His creation. Moonlight, on the other hand, is a subdued reflection of that light in the form of divine grace that is gently showered upon creation.

There are two primary ways of spreading light into this world—from the source or as a reflection of that source. The Light of Love came into our presence to demonstrate the depth of His love for each of us on that cold winter’s day in Bethlehem. His teachings and the language of His life showed us all how to reflect the Light of His grace to others. Although it seems like the events of those times are ancient history, they’re as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago. And the very same moon which rose on that first Christmas evening and shined down on a humble family with a newborn child is the very same moon that graces our presence tonight.

SOLA GRATIA

Healing Light, Jamestown, NC

My favorite definition of God’s grace is that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. We are forgiven and saved by the gift of grace alone or “sola gratia”. This concept of unmerited favor cannot be earned by good works, but doing good becomes a free will response to saving grace.

And there are a legion of worthy mediators who become the vessels God uses to seamlessly dispense His grace to others at all times. The lamp of grace is always burning and giving off its healing light, but we do have to acknowledge our need for it and exercise our free will to accept it.

CHEERWINE, DONUTS AND A SMILE

The Park Bench, Greensboro, NC

"I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish...
I see Jesus in everyone."! --Mother Teresa

An adventurous boy decided to find God one morning at a family picnic in a neighborhood park. He had packed a bag with a box of Krispy Krème donuts and a six-pack of Cheerwine soda. He noticed a white haired man sitting on a bench next to a woman and a wheel chair by his family’s table. The boy walked over to them, sat down on the grass and opened his picnic bag. He was about to take a drink from his soda when he offered them a donut. The woman declined, but the man gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a can of Carolina Cheerwine. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was so delighted he smiled a big smile back!

They sat there eating and smiling, but they never said a word. After they were finished, the woman helped the man into his wheel chair and everyone started to leave. But before the young boy had gone a few steps, both of them turned around and smiled a bright smile.

When the boy returned to his family’s table, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "Why are you so happy? He replied, "I just had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile the elderly man, also radiant with joy, returned to the assisted living home with his wife. A nurse was stunned by the look of peace on his face and asked, "What did you do this morning that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had Cheerwine and donuts in the park with God. And you know, he's much younger than I expected, but he’s got a beautiful smile."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. And most often, God’s priceless grace is dispensed through folks like you and me. When have you had the sense of joy as God blessed someone else through you?

BY HIS GRACE

Winged Grace, Wrightsville Beach, NC

Nobody’s perfect and the cross shows us that we no longer need to turn guilt ("I MADE a mistake") into shame ("I AM a mistake.") as priceless grace from the divine presence is now available to all.