Messages of Hope

Scene I “Nine hundred invited guests for a wedding and no RSVP? Why don't they want a response?”

Scene II “Thank you so much for inviting us to your wedding, but we cannot attend.” as we're thinking, “But you don't really know us as we are just customers. You make our chicken sandwiches at the restaurant!”

Scene III “You want us to invite ALL of OUR relatives to your daughter's wedding? Why would we do that? I don't think they'd attend.”

If anyone knows me, they know how much I love to garden.  I grow zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and many other herbs.  I also love planting flowers.  All gardeners know that it is important to get the soil tilled, weed free, and ready for the season.  The garden needs sunlight and water for the crops to grow.  There are so many similarities between gardening and how Jesus speaks to us.

Recently I was listening to some music, and a favorite song came on. Even though I have heard this song many times before, one line of the lyrics jumped out at me. The line reads, “In my own defense, I don’t believe that I was born this complicated.” It made me laugh, and I could not get the words out of my head.

Many of you know that I suffer from a vision loss that has left me legally blind. For many years I was in denial and was hiding my disability. I only told the people that I trusted. I did not want to be different and stand out because I did not want to admit it to myself that I needed help.

In the past months I’ve had many conversations with a wide range of people, of different ages, different races, different education levels, and different geographical areas. We have covered a variety of topics. There’s a lot to choose from; personal and family situations, the pandemic, the economy, unrest in cities and towns across the country, and even, yes- the weather. But nearly every conversation has something in common: varying levels of anxiety.