At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane’s departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, “I love you, I wish you enough.” 

She said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.” They kissed good-bye and she left. 

He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?” “Yes, I have,” I replied. 

Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was experiencing. 

“Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?” I asked. 

“I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral, ” he said. 

“When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?” 

He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. 

“When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them,” he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory. 

“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. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye.” 
He then began to sob and walked away.

[ Original story by Bob Perks, in Chicken Soup For the Grieving Soul ]

In memory of the late Neil Peart, drummer for the band Rush, I’ve been listening to all of their albums from start to finish.

It’s like a trip down memory lane for me. So many songs stir up so many images and memories for me, especially from high school marching band days when I discovered the group.

I’ve confessed before that not all of my youthful musical tastes were good. I’d probably be embarrassed if I ran across some of the old cassettes I carried around with me on those band trips and vacations.

But Rush was among my better choices. They were musically and lyrically pushing the boundaries of what music could sound like. So many of their songs paint such vivid pictures in my mind.

Recently, their drummer Neil Peart passed away from brain cancer. Thus officially ends an era of my childhood. But the music has and will always live on for many generations to come.

Rock on, Tom Sawyer!

Peanut knows how to spend her Caturdays. And for her, every single day is Caturday.

I am envious at how completely relaxed and chill she is nearly all of the time. You might say that she’s purr-fectly relaxed.

Now if I could only convince her to switch places with me so that she can trek off to work at 6:15 am and I can sleep in . . .

“Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always ‘me first,’
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, The Message).

“A lenten prayer to avoid entitlement from Richard Rohr:

‘Maybe we all should begin our days with a litany of satisfaction, abundance, and enoughness. God, you have given me another day of totally gratuitous life: my health, my eyes, my ears, my mind, my taste, my family, my freedom, my education, clean water, more than enough food, a roof over my head, a warm bed and blanket, friends, sunshine, a beating heart, and your eternal love and guidance.

To any one of these we must say, “And this is more than enough!'”

Boy, if I started out my days like that, what a difference it would make. There’d be less anxiety and more rest, less worry and more trust, less complaining and more gratitude, less bitterness and more joy.

Whenever people ask me how I’m doing, the answer I’ve been giving lately is “Better than I deserve.”

I believe Dave Ramsey has been known to say that as well, but I’m not sure if he’s the one who originated it. Whoever did was spot on.

I am always doing better than I deserve. If I’m honest, I know who I am apart from Jesus and it’s not pretty. Still, I get hesed — when the one from whom I have the right to expect nothing gives me everything instead (thanks to Michael Card for that one).

If you need something to readjust your attitude or reboot your way of thinking, that’s a good prayer. You can borrow or steal it from me anytime. I stole it from the best.

“yeah, so maybe the day didn’t go quite as planned, because, hey, let’s be real honest here, we aren’t what we would have planned. 
But, we can hear it, in all the noise everywhere, the grace of Your whispering Word right here: ‘All that matters? Is that I have loved you at your darkest. All that matters is that you are deeply loved in the midst of your deepest dark.’ Romans 5:8
So, yeah , we sit with that — sit with that for a good, long bit. That binds up the wounds. 
The grace in Christ is far greater than the mess in our crisis. 
That changes our world tonight…” (Ann Voskamp). 

#HonestPrayers #1000Gifts

Not every day is going to be your best day ever. Some days you can look back and say that the best part of that day is that it’s over.

But God has a a way of working even the worst of days– and even the most mediocre of days– into good. He is leading you into a deeper trust that you are loved and you are the Beloved, no matter what.

Only what God says about you matters. Not co-workers or friends or family or anyone else. Not the naysayers or the flatterers.

Only God knows you perfectly. Only God can claim authorship and ownership. Only God knows your innermost secret thoughts and desires of your heart.

What does God say?

God said when He made you, “It is very good.”

God said when He sent Jesus for you, “I chose the nails for you.”

God says to those of His children, “You are my beloved.”

That’s what matters.

I think periodically we need the reminder of how good we really have it.

I’m not saying we don’t have any problems or that our lives are perfect and pain-free. I’m definitely not intending to minimize or discount any suffering or pain you’re dealing with.

I am saying that I really do tend to whine and complain over small stuff. In the grand scheme, most of what keeps me up late at night won’t really matter in ten years . . . or five years . . . or perhaps in six months.

It’s a bit funny that I get upset over spotty wi-fi when over half the world’s population went to bed hungry last night. No internet doesn’t seem nearly as much of a crisis when so many have no access to clean water.

Maybe I need to give thanks more often for all that I routinely take for granted– my health, my food, my clean water, the roof over my head, freedom to worship as I choose.

If it’s a reminder I needed for me, then maybe it will be a helpful reminder for you as well. Stay grateful, my friends.

“Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest and simple graces as especial favors. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God” (Thomas a Kempis).

Maybe it’s time to start that list again. It’s the one I did where I listed everything I could think of that I was thankful for. It took several weeks and went way past where I originally intended.

Gratitude reminds us of how blessed we are. It takes our focus off what we’re lacking and off of what’s not working. It reminds us of who’s really in control and where good things really come from.

Most of us have a default setting of complaining and bitterness and envy. It’s not hard to see why in a culture where every commercial is based off of a competitive mentality where what you have can never be enough. The whole economy seems to be based on “just a little more,” i.e. bigger house, fancier car, newer phone, etc.

But giving thanks makes you grateful for what you already have. It makes you content. You can say, “No thanks, I have enough.”

It’s no wonder that God’s will for you in Christ Jesus is to pray always and give thanks in everything. That sounds like a plan to me.

I’m absolutely brain dead tonight. I can’t think of anything remotely creative or original.

So I bring you a picture of the salad I had for dinner recently. It was very good. And in case you’re wondering, it came from Chopt. You’re welcome.

Hopefully by tomorrow I will be back on my game.

The End.