Thursday, August 19, 2021
I Wish You Enough
The Rev. Robert E. Stevens, Jr.
I receive many emails each day. Every once and a while one strikes me as a gift from God. Please indulge me as I share one that I received that falls into that category…
“…Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said "I love you and I wish you enough". The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom".
They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?". "Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking but why is this a forever goodbye?". "I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral"
she said. "When you were saying goodbye, I heard you say 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?". She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone".
She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more. "When we said 'I wish you enough' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them".
Then turning toward me she shared the following as if she were
reciting it from memory ---
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
She then began to cry and walked away. They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to
forget them.”
Summer is a wonderful opportunity for us to take a deep breath. Summer is not necessarily less busy, but the rhythm of life does change and it often allows us to pay attention to the areas of our life and soul that go untended for much of the year. I urge you to take advantage of the season.
Sometime soon wonder about the question of, “what is enough?.” Wonder in the quiet of the morning on your back porch, or running along the path by your house, or while watching your grandchildren play. Wonder wherever and whenever your soul is most at rest. I offer the following as a process.
Ask yourself these questions…
What are you most grateful for?
When was a time that you were the recipient of generosity?
What were the characteristics of that experience? Think of adjectives that describe it.
What is enough, for you?
It is in the midst of our gratitude that we are able to recognize God’s grace in our lives This community teaches me daily that God’s grace in my life is more abundant than I could have ever imagined. For that I thank you. As this season marches toward fall I wish for you all some time to rest, to wonder and above all, I pray that we may live into more fully the blessing at the end of the daily office…
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.