Never Too Many Stamps

The following meditation is by Dr. Bruce Main, Founder & Executive Director of Urban Promise. It will appear in the forthcoming book, A Month of Prayer & Gratitude: Five-Minute Meditations for a Deeper Experience of Gratitude.

“They are polar opposites,” shared my host. We had just finished discussing his intentions for the retreat I was about to lead. Now he wanted to talk about his family. “One is loving, outward focused, a joy to be around. The other is so self-centered and drains the life of us whenever she’s around.” I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was creeping close to 11 pm and I was beginning to feel the effects of a long day of travel. “Another cup of coffee?” he poured without waiting for a response. I could tell this conversation was not ending anytime soon.

“Why do people age so differently?” posed my new friend. A professor at a small Liberal Arts college, he was sharing some of the challenges he and his wife were facing with aging parents. “My mother-in-law is a piece of work,” he continued. “And she’s robbing the joy and life out of my wife. Everything is a crisis. Everything is about her and about making her life better. I mean, the things she’s complaining about are so petty. Fortunately, she lives three hours away from us. But she’s talking about moving close. That would be a disaster.”

“Tell me about your mother,” I beckoned. “Completely opposite,” he began. “To give you an example, she has eleven grandchildren. Each grandchild has gone through college.” He paused for a minute and took another swig of coffee. “This is remarkable,” he chuckled. “While in college, she would write to each grandchild, every week, and enclose $5. That’s a lot of notes. That’s a lot of $5 bills. That’s a lot of stamps. Every grandchild talks about their grandmother with such fondness,” he concluded. “They call her all the time. They check in on her. They give her credit for helping them through tough times.”

“You are the light of the world,” says Jesus at the conclusion of his most famous sermon we know as the beatitudes. To a Jewish listener, these words would have been unsettling. After all, the Torah was the light. Jerusalem was the light. God was the light. This truth was affirmed through the prophets and Old Testament. But Jesus flips the script and reminds his listeners—you carry the light of God. And we all know that light gives life. Only with light can living things grow and flourish. Receive God’s light. Reflect God’s light through your acts of love, gratitude, and generosity. The world needs you.

Joy,