Read: Luke 1:26-38 Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! (v. 28) Before my first chemotherapy treatment, I cried out fearfully and desperately to the Lord. I had watched my 46-year-old father succumb to the side effects of chemotherapy by contracting a fungal infection that took his life. I wondered if death in my 40s would be my destiny too. That day I opened up my Bible to the daily reading, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, …
The Only Son
Read: Luke 7:11-17 . . . the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. (v. 12) With relief, my husband arrived at our wedding rehearsal with good news: he had a job. Greg felt God’s call to be a coach early in life. Convinced, he trained and desired only to coach baseball. He had been holding out for a full-time coaching position. The accepted job promised baseball coaching on the side. But two years passed without any …
Crumbs
Read: Matthew 15:21-28 . . . even the dogs eat the crumbs. (v. 27) Downtown Kansas City, just outside the corner Starbucks, a man stands and tells his story. Some folks listen. Others retort dismissively. Unashamed, this new parolee pleads for help. He’s not too proud to admit it. With blunt humility, he asks if I have a “twenty” to spare. I brush him off, heading for my car; it’s less messy to turn a blind eye. Still, I couldn’t …
Filling Jerry Cans
Read: John 4:1-30 Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. (v. 14) One of my first mornings in Kayunga, Uganda, I awaken to the sound of a mob gathering around the town well. Women and children jockey with their plastic yellow jerry cans for a place in line. Jerry cans hold the source and sustainer of life—water! Kayunga has a working well, but not always. Water from a lesser source is better …
Devotion Declared
Read: John 12:1-7 Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. (v. 7) When Grandpa’s health rapidly declined, Grandma lobbied for a hospital bed in their bedroom. She insisted on keeping him home. Hospice assisted. Every night Grandma crawled into that bed with him. When others their age slept in separate beds, they shared a bed. This was no different. Grandma refused to forgo the opportunity to honor Grandpa still, with wholehearted devotion …