The Messengers

Some days, the news is almost overwhelmingly bad on both a world and personal level. The news outlets constantly update the Russian takeover in Ukraine while the search goes on for the remains of the presumed crashed Malaysian Airlines jet with its 239 passengers. Domestically, the death toll has risen to fourteen with many unaccounted for in Washington state after a horrific mudslide on Saturday. Closer to home for me was the discovering this morning on Facebook that the 8th grade son and several other relatives of one of my former students in Georgia were killed in the crash of a small plane in Colorado several days ago. The communications revolution has left us with the constant exposure to pain in numbing detail and bracing ourselves for the next body blow. Sometimes they come in wicked combinations.

And yet, this afternoon, as I took a shortcut across our enclosed playground back to my wing of Westbury Christian, I was hugged- OK, tackled- by five giggling first graders who wanted to share with me their joy of recess and life in general. After letting go, Tara breathlessly informed me she was bringing her change for the orphans in Honduras and Haiti on Friday and that her bank bottle was already more than half-filled! One of the kids told me my desk was messy- they are so perceptive- and I promised to go clean it up! As I stepped out of the sunlight back into the environment of my classroom, I glowed a little bit and the hope for the newest generation was reborn yet again. In some of His final words to His closest friends in John 16, Jesus prophesied that, "In this world, you will have trouble.'' But praise God, He didn't leave it there, adding, "But take heart! I have overcome the world!" We need reminders of the overcoming, the reason to not quit or give up the hope we have as believers. Sometimes, I think the Lord sends us reminders of that hope. Today, His messengers were disguised as a quintet of first grade girls.

Applicable quote of the day:
“There's nothing more contagious than the laughter of young children; it doesn't even have to matter what they're laughing about.”
Criss Jami

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com