St. Luke's Blogs

Not long after we had just moved into our house, we were in our front yard, taking a good look at our front flower beds. As we were taking a look around, our next-door neighbor came out of her house to introduce herself to us. We had a nice conversation as we stood in our yard on a beautiful June day. We were not long into our conversation with our new neighbor when she asked us, “Do you have a church?” The conversation had not yet turned to what I do for a living…

There is a great joy that comes when we are nice to others.  When I am able to give to someone in need or perform a kind deed that blesses another person, it makes me feel good. Sadly, we are living in difficult times. In the past month, we have experienced job losses, we have seen oil prices drop, and we have a strange virus that is turning our world upside down. So much is out of our control. These difficult times can really test our patience and our kindness. It is not as easy to be kind, especially when others around us have short tempers too.

Christian Barbara is a mechanic. He spends his days fixing cars. He is the lead mechanic at Phantom Motor Works in Rhode Island. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Christian would often see a young lady in a wheelchair passing by his shop. One day, she stopped and asked for a little help. She needed some air in her wheelchair tire. Christian was glad to help. While filling the tire with air, Christian struck up a conversation with the young lady, Linda Abrants. They quickly became friends.

I was in Texas when I learned about a significant part of Oklahoma history. I was born and raised in Oklahoma. I am a proud Okie. I have lived in many parts of our great state, and I have come to truly appreciate my home. Sadly, I remember the day I was attending a class in seminary when I learned about the Tulsa race massacre. I was in a small room on the campus of SMU, listening to a guest speaker. The speaker taught about the events that happened in Tulsa and I was shocked.

This week, I was driving to my hometown of Lawton. As I was driving, I passed the Fort Sill National Cemetery. This particular cemetery is special to me because of the number of family members, including my mother, who are buried within the beautiful grounds of this national cemetery. It looked quiet and peaceful. The grass was bright green because of the recent rains. As I drove past, I noticed the beautiful, large American flag, flying high above the grounds. In this moment, I was reminded about the many Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who are buried there. The beauty of the Stars and Stripes against the backdrop of that cemetery served as a reminder of the true meaning of Memorial Day in the United States of America.

“Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer disgrace.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me for good, and also of the words which the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.”

“Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Yea, O people in Zion who dwell at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.”

Can you imagine what it must have been like to witness Jesus perform a miracle? How amazing would it have been to see Jesus defy the laws of nature? What was it like to see a prayer answered right before your eyes?

Josette Duran had been sending extra food to school in her son’s lunch for some time. Her son, Dylan, had asked for the extra food and Josette thought he was just a hungry, growing boy. It turns out that Josette’s son’s heart is much bigger than his stomach. During lunch at school, Dylan noticed another boy sitting off by himself…

Yellow rubber ducks have been a part of society since the early 1940s. Jim Preston understood that the yellow rubber duck is something that many people enjoy. That is why Jim bought hundreds of the little yellow toys and used them to help inspire people during the past 14 months. Jim lives on a busy street in Menlo Park, California. Each day he would wake up, before sunrise, and use the toy ducks to spell out a word of encouragement in his front yard. He wanted to offer hope and inspiration during a time of uncertainty and lockdown.