Lenten Devotional by Don Akin
March 21, 2017
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you…” (Eph 1: 17-18a)
I woke a bit late on March 1 to my iPhone ominously alerting me to an email. First I uttered “rabbit.” Many decades earlier my mother explained that doing so on the first of each month would invite continued blessings. Now it invites a monthly remembrance of her. Armed with that self-fulfilled blessing, I opened Nena Radtkeʼs Lenten devotional which included “A colleague of mine once stated that she would rather fly with a pilot who has a healthy dose of fear—neither fearless nor fearful. Fear in this context was more akin to a keen sense of awareness of one’s surroundings.” Another blessing. My Ash Wednesday itinerary included Debbie’s nonstop ministry to nursing homes aided by keenly aware copilot Ellie Kell. Another blessing. Other crew members would include regulars Cindy, Nena, and Jeannie. More blessings. It would be just my second flight. Passengers included two particularly memorable residents. One was so aware of everything that she remarked it was not my first trip. The other repeatedly made all aware of just one thing, her extended family’s absence. One brave in what she remembered and one brave in what she could not forget. But all of us shared one loaf and one cup and arrived together at our mutual destination, a community called hope. Now that’s a blessing!
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, people may be jealous and full of contempt; Be happy anyway.
The good you do today people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world your best anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them
anyway.
—Mother Theresa