My Kingdom for a Smile

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  Today Lord, I’d like to talk about an experience I had last night which made quite an impact on me… I went to the Super Wal*Mart.

I only needed a few items; Some food for dinner, and I wanted to pick up a couple Christmas gifts for the kids so I thought it would be a quick and easy trip.  It was around 4:20pm, so I expected to avoid the truly heavy “after-work” traffic and in fact the parking lot was busy, but not as packed as I’ve seen before.  I grabbed a cart, went inside, looked around at the hustle and bustle and almost immediately it hit me… No one was smiling.

Not the customers, not the cashiers, not the stock people, no one in eyesight had a smile on their faces.  I’m not sure why it hit me so quickly, or affected me so significantly but the whole building suddenly seemed very cold and uninviting.  Now, it wasn’t Wal*Mart itself.  It’s certainly not my favorite place to shop, but I absolutely have nothing against it either.  This was just an overall feeling being given off that pervaded the entire premises.  And as I spent the next 45 minutes gathering what I came for, it only became more apparent to me that the people here simply were not happy.  Even attempts to garner some positive responses from others in the store failed.  I made eye contact, smiled and nodded to countless patrons, and yet all but one ignored my actions completely.  In the end, I paid for my items and left the store feeling almost distraught at the overwhelming level of despair I had just witnessed.  It hung with me for some of the evening, until I got some quiet time to contemplate and pray for guidance.  That helped calm my spirit, but the experience still lingers in my mind.

So Father, this morning my heart is crying out to You for help.  You’ve done so much for us, and yet there are so many who just can’t see past their earthly worries enough to bear witness to Your Glorious Works.  Please fill these lost souls with Your Endless Love; Make it grow and spread so that Your Light shines like a beacon for all around to behold.  Help me be an emissary for Your Word, and spread the Love of Christ and the Miracle of His Birth on to all those I possibly can.  Amen.  ~Phather Phil

Feeling Your Presence

Dear Lord; First off, let me say Thank You for watching over Jonathan yesterday during his trip.  He had a wonderful time, and seems to have learned quite a bit from the experience.  Seeing that light in his eyes brings me more happiness than almost anything else in this world.

Secondly, I want to thank You for all of the inspiration You provided me with yesterday while finalizing the wedding script.  I have to say, I’m very happy with the results and the Bride seems to be as well.  Now I just pray that I can deliver Your Words with the reverence You deserve, and bring Your Loving Presence to those in attendance.

Also in my thoughts today Lord, is my Wonderful Wife Shannon.  As You know, she teaches a preschool class and is absolutely amazing at working with those children.  Like any group of kids, she has some that are far more challenging than others and over the last couple of weeks she’s been struggling with one in particular.  Father, she takes her care of these children so personally that when she has difficulties reaching even one it hurts her heart very deeply.  Please comfort her spirit Lord, and fill her with the understanding that every act of love she performs for these little ones is never in vain.  Take her in Your Embrace, and let her feel Your Presence so that she can continue to bring her love to these children.  Amen.

And today Lord, I’m actually going to add a P.S. to our conversation.  The other night on TV, they showed “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.  I was thrilled to see a happy piece of my childhood still being aired, and my kids absolutely loved it.  More importantly Father, it’s one of the few Christmas specials that talks about the real meaning of Christmas and not the more generalized “Holiday” messages.  One of my Facebook friends posted this link this morning, so I thought I’d close by sharing it.

Your Loving Message comes to me in so many ways Lord.  🙂

~Phather Phil