Roger's Remarks
SLOT MACHINES: When you rearrange the letters… CASH LOST IN ME.
ELECTION RESULTS: When you rearrange the letters… LIES - LET'S RECOUNT.
SNOOZE ALARMS: When you rearrange the letters… ALAS! NO MORE Z'S.
A DECIMAL POINT: When you rearrange the letters… I'M A DOT IN PLACE.
ELEVEN PLUS TWO: When you rearrange the letters… TWELVE PLUS ONE.
It occurred to me that we can learn a lesson from these witty phrases for our spiritual life. Sometimes we have to rearrange, or modify, the ways we express our ideas to get our point across. Just as he same letters are used to share the same idea, they ended up in different locations. In the years ahead, the Holy Spirit may lead this congregation to rearrange the methods and structures to spread the gospel message of God’s love for all.
Romans 15:13,
Retired Pastor Roger
PS: One last story… from writer Bob Perks. He tells the story about being at an airport one day, and as he sat there, he overheard a father and daughter talking in their last moments together. They just announced her departure to go away on the plane, and as they stood near the security gate, they hugged. And then the father said to the girl, “Well, I do love you, and I wish you enough,”
“Daddy,” she said. “Our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all that I’ve ever needed. And Daddy, I wish you enough, too,” and they kissed and she left to board the plane.
The father walked towards the window to watch the plane where Bob was standing and he watched this man. He cried. And Bob didn’t really want to intrude on the privacy of that moment. But he went up to the man and checked to see if he was okay. The man asked Bob, “Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing that it would be probably the last time?” “Yes,” Bob said. “I remember that time with my father”, he said, and Bob was intrigued.
“Forgive me for asking”, he said. “But why is this a forever goodbye?” “Well”, he said, it’s simple. I’m old and my daughter lives a long way away. I’ve got challenges ahead of me, and, you know, the reality is the next trip back for her would be for my funeral.” “Fair enough,” Bob said. “And when you were saying goodbye, I heard you say, I wish you enough. Can I ask you, really what does that mean?”
The old man started to smile. He said, “Well, that’s a wish that’s been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say to everyone, ‘I wish you enough.’” He continued, “My daughter and I, we’re wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.”
And then he recited this little poem. “I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting, and I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. And I wish you enough hellos to get you through to the final goodbye.”
And as the man said that, he walked away quietly, a few tears leaking out...