God's Plan and Purpose

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding. In all things be mindful of Him and He will direct your paths."

Today's message is a little more personal as I wanted to reflect on my mother's passing and the wonderful gift of love she possessed. Last week I visited my younger sister in Ellisville, Mississippi where she has resided for the last 31 years. Ellisville State School is home to children and adults with severe mental and physical handicaps as measured by worldly standards. Caretakers at the school are most certainly called by God to be there.

As I observed the dozens of residents struggling to walk, talk, or crawl in the dormitories, I was reminded of how we always thought of Becky's purpose in life - to glorify God...the same purpose we all have. While so many of us consider it a pity that these innocent, loving people cannot experience what life has to offer in the way we would consider to be normal, it must be obvious that these angels cannot ever commit a sin nor can they ever be tempted to commit a sin. Heaven made a reservation for them at their conception and they are here to help us with our daily struggles in life, helping us to know what it means to love and serve others, especially those unable to care for themselves. "Thus the last shall be first and the first shall be last." (Matthew 20:16)

The poem below was written by my mother and dedicated to my father when Becky was about 2 or 3 after she realized God had a special plan and purpose for this miracle baby born 3 months premature at 2 pounds with a defective heart. She was given almost no chance to survive...this was 1960.

If you have someone in your family, or know of someone in your circle of friends with similar challenges, maybe this will be of some comfort to you.

God bless you.
Bobby


One day the Queen of Heaven
Received a special plea:
“Oh, show me my salvation,
Please intercede for me!”

So strongly were the words
sent up.
So loudly came the prayer,
That the Queen went to the
throne of God,
To place it in His care.

And the mighty God of
Heaven
Gave the order of the day
To give fast and loving
service
To a soul who sought “His
way."

To the Blessed Queen of Heaven
He gave the special plan
That Heaven keeps so carefully filed
For each and every man.

She read the message through,
then smiled,
“How good is God,” thought
she,
As she made her way along
the hall
To the angel nursery.

The sunshine danced in colors
Making golden halos spin,
And the baby angels chorused
When they saw her coming in.

“Oh, good morning, Mother
Mary,”
All the tiny voices cried.
Some tried to straighten angel
wings,
Some, angel toys to hide.

All holding up their baby
arms,
Their cherub cheeks aglow
With special love, which
only they
In Heaven’s world could
Know.

Now, this nursery up in
God’s world
Is divided, it is true.
There are two kinds of angels:
The “untried” and the “new.”

The new are those who’ve
just arrived
From visits down on earth
Who proved they were
God’s children
From the moment of their
birth.

The “untried” little angels
Are those who wait their
turn
To carry out a plan for God
To help his creatures learn.

To this last group Our Lady
turned
And gravely told each one
Of a very special chore on
earth
She needed to have done.

“The one of you who makes
this trip
Will gain a special place
Before the very throne of God,
You’ll take to earth His grace.”

“Your task will not be easy,
You will never see the one
Whose soul you are to help
find God,
You’ll not have time for fun.”

“You’ll never get to walk a
path
Or pick the flowers bright,
You’ll never, ever speak a word,
The sun will hide its light.”

“But though it does sound
strange, I know,
I promise you much love,
You always will be safe in
God.
We’ll watch you from above.”

The eager little angels all
Cried out:
“Oh, please take me!”
“I want to be the one to go!”
“I’ll be the best, you’ll see!”

Except for one small angel
With her brown eyes
Shining bright,
Who had been stacking
angel blocks,
But couldn’t get them right.

Her straight brown hair
was all awry~
It never stayed in place,
She brushed it with a rosy
palm
From her little pixie face.

So quietly did she take her wings
And place them on a chair
That the angels in their
eagerness
Forgot that she was there.

On sturdy legs she rose and ran
Across the nursery floor,
And still she went unnoticed
Until she reached the door.

She smiled the proudest
angel smile
That they had seen in years!
“I thought I’d never get a job!”
She beamed through angel tears.

“You know how long I’ve
waited!
And now they need me so,
Why, I’ve heard they’ll
call me Becky,
Now, I’ve really got to go!”

“Oh dear, I’ll have to hurry,’
She cried as she passed the gate,
“I’ll catch a ride on the winds of March,
I really can’t be late!”

This a smiling, happy,
angel,
All perfection~ straight
from God.
Is teaching us to walk the
paths
Where He on earth once
trod.