[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Wednesday November 8, 2006

[Barry Ludwig]

Daily Devotions Wednesday November 8, 2006

The devotions this week are written by Pastor Barry Ludwig.  Having just
returned from a weekend in New York City where his oldest daughter ran in
the NYC marathon, he reflects upon the season of Thanksgiving.

 

1 Thessalonians 3:9

"For what thanksgiving can we render to God for you, for all the joy  which
we feel for your sake before our God"

 

It was my first semester away at college and after being gone for almost
three months, I came home for thanksgiving. My mother was waiting for me at
the back door (the front door was for guests and unwanted door to door
salesmen). I remember thinking that I could not remember ever having been
squeezed so tightly by her.  With tears in her eyes she said, "Thank God you
are home, it has been so terribly quiet around here since you left!"  Is
this the same woman who three months earlier would yell through the door to
my room and tell me to turn down that awful music (Beatles and Byrds)?

 

I knew that the subtext of those words was loneliness and a deep love for
the son who was preoccupied with himself and his emerging adulthood. In the
dinner prayer that night (which was always the "Come Lord Jesus" prayer) my
Mother ended it with, "and thanks for bringing Barry home safely." I nearly
slid off my chair. My Mother never strayed from the script.  Like Paul, she
was thankful to God for what mattered most, family, friends..people.

 

Last weekend, Karen and I were joined, even if briefly, with our daughters
and their husbands. The memory of my Mother's greeting came back to my mind
along with Paul's comment to his Christian brothers and sisters at
Thessalonica. Give thanks to God today for the people in your life. May they
be more important than your appointments, work, hobbies and distractions.

 

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