MOTHER'S DAY

Yep! I know Mother's Day was two days ago, but it's still not too late to share something with you.

Although I'm 80 years old, thanks to three simply wonderful and absolutely stupendous stepsons (Wonder if flattery will do anything for me!), I'm celebrating my fifth Mother's Day of actually being a mother -- a stepmother, anyhow!

For the past few years at church, all mothers (including stepmothers) were given a potted plant. But this year they changed the format and we received a Hershey bar instead. Maybe you're wondering what's so great about that? You see, we have this gal in church who has her own business of making party favors, etc. So she took the ordinary Hershey bars in their brown wrappings, wrapped silver around each one, and then with special computer software created beautiful paper sleeves -- some pink, some blue -- with the name and address of our church on one side and a Bible verse on the other side and slipped the sleeves over the silver wrapping. And it's that Bible verse I want to share with you.

I don't know if you are familiar with Eugene Peterson's translation of the Bible or not. I met Mr. Peterson personally at a writer's conference years ago and bought a copy of his New Testament translation called "The Message." That's all he had finished at that time, and I loved it. I was unaware he had completed the Old Testament translation until I got my Mother's Day candy bar Sunday with Isaiah 41:13 on it. I've got to put this in a paragraph all by itself it's so outstanding.

"I, your God, have a firm grip on you and I'm not letting go. I'm telling you, 'Don't panic. I'm right here to help you'." Isaiah 41:13, MSG

Wow! And double Wow! Get a grip on that, will you? Nothing more need be said. Read it. Reread it! And memorize it!

Wish I could come up with something as grandiose and comforting as that!

Preacher's Kid