July 22nd-25th - Let's Play!

Theme of the Days
Stop and heal

Readings of the Days
1 Corinthians 9-11-Do we not have the right to food and drink?---This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you.
2 Kings 1-5-Pass the Spirit of the mantle.
Amos 7-9-I will restore the fortunes of my people.
Obadiah-Don't let your pride deceive you.

God's Word of the Days
I have stopped you in your tracks. Now listen to my voice.

Story of the Day
She had been through a struggle in life but now things were beginning to look up. So off she went on a trip. A planned trip to restore and bring relationships closer with her children. And the trip began just as planned. Moments of time spent with loved ones cherished. But only brief moments. For suddenly the trip changed. Her illness set back in for the entire time of the trip and then some. She was stopped in to lay and heal in a hospital. Surely she felt that she had a right to time off. Had a right to rest and relaxation. Had a right to some food and drink to enjoy. But she was stopped in her plans and made to rest.

As she rested in the hospital she reflected on the Spirit of God. So much time. But a time that was clouded in pain. A time that was clouded in drugs that caused confusion when relieving the pain. She rested in a time that kept her tied down with tubes into and out of her body. But even so she was made to rest. And she thought...about food and drink which was withheld from her body at this time. She thought about the bread and the wine and the body and the blood. The suffering and the pain and the death and the dying. But then again she thought about the life and the love and the compassion and the Spirit of the mantle. What could she do as she lie in this state of being?

So she decided to pass the mantle of thanksgiving to each person entering her room during this "down" time. A word of encouragement and a word of thanks to each. It was one way she could pass the mantle of the Spirit of God to those working around and near. And as the mantle was passed around some restoration took place. Restoration for her own body and restoration for the spirits of the caregivers. But why?

She thought and realized that God was present in this place. Present in her and in the care givers. Present in the family visits with those on vacation. Present in the healing and present in her life and the lives of these strangers that are now friends and fellow loved ones on a trip that she could never have planned on her own. These were not her own actions and ideas but the passing of the mantle of the Spirit into her life at this moment in time.

A trip was planned and a vacation was taken and God was present throughout.

Prayer of the Day
Lord, always be present in Your hospitals. Be present in the patients and be present in the staff. For we know that You are the Healer. Guide the minds and hands and hearts of all who give care to the sick and enable them to fulfill Your call to action. Plant Your mantle and Spirit in the souls of all patients that they may be thankful for all You do day after day. Show each how You heal from the inside out. ---Amen