“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11
Do you recall when the first McDonald’s came to a town near you and there was a sign proudly proclaiming that “Over a million sold” and how impressive that was? I asked my mom how many cows it took to make a million hamburgers and she gave me gave me the standard adult answer telling how much a dressed beef would weigh, the size of a burger patty and then came those words “do the math.” Sometime this spring there will be an event in Haiti that will take place without any fanfare; no large sign proclaiming the achievement. This spring there will be a child in Haiti who will happily place their spoon into a bowl of beans and rice that will be meal number 5,557,129 that was provided by Trinity HOPE this year at the mid-point of the year. The child will not know, the donor will not know and that meal will be just one more smile on the face of a Haitian child who is enjoying what quite possibly could be their lone meal for the day at a Lutheran school somewhere in the outskirts of Haiti. Just take a time to reflect on the number of connections that God has made to bring this blessing to this child and how He will use their life to bring another soul to learn the Good News about His Son Jesus, our Savior. There are so many blessings and we so often look the other way and don’t even see them happen. I am closing today with the words from the first verse of the “Blessing” song by Laura Story.
We pray for blessings, we pray for peace; comfort for family, protection while we sleep. We pray for healing, for prosperity; we pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering all the while, You hear each spoken need yet love us way too much to give us lesser things. 'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.