Windows into the Light by Michael Sullivan

Purchase a copy of Michael Sullivan's WINDOWS INTO THE LIGHT: A LENTEN JOURNEY OF STORIES AND ART from amazon.com.

   

Signposts: Daily Devotions

Tuesday, December 30

He has shown the mercy he promised to our ancestors...that we...might serve him without fear.
—Luke 1: 72-73

Lee was in his eighties. Full of life, always with a smile on his face, everyone loved to be with him. He had that gift of grace that made those around him feel welcome and loved.

Recently, he was admitted into the hospital. There for several weeks, he dealt with a heart problem, then a lung problem, then who knows what. But Lee never gave up and never spoke harshly.

On visits, he was kind, always asking about me, my family, and how life was treating me. And while I tried to get him to talk about himself, he always returned to my life and the gifts God had graciously given me. It was as if talking with Lee was hearing God talk about his own child, as if God were proud of me and my life.

Isn't that what each of us are called to do with our lives—to reflect the love of God to all people? Just imagine what the world would be like if it were full of people like Lee. Think of all the criticism and gossip that would cease. Think of the positive role models, the acts of kindness, the generosity of everyone's heart.

But most of all, think about the love of God lived out among the people of the earth as war, famine, division and poverty ceased. Think about a world where all God's children knew they were loved and cherished. It's a grand and holy dream.

And it can come true. It did in Lee. And so it can in you.

God, let me see your dream in my life and let me live it as your child. Amen.