Blessings of saucy spicy juicy love upon you, each and every one!
I, your friend the Reverend Buddy, have been busily buzzing about the region since last we spoke, huffing, puffing and hefting the unbearably light blessings of the Lord, singing His sweet Song of Love on my rickety, slightly out-of-tune instrument, yea verily playing for all I am worth to any who will listen; and children, may I say, I have been enriched beyond wealth and words at the beauty I have witnessed.
O flock o' mine, your pal the Reverend Buddy has been copiously blessed by the many wonderful folks I have encountered in my recent travels. I am living proof of the Human Spirit's kindness, generosity, and Divine Grace, blessed as I have been by the legions of angels My Friend sends me daily!
In recent days, I have met mothers who have lost sons; instead of wrapping themselves in the comfort of grief, they have embraced the world and given it joy!
I have met strong young men who have lost arms and legs. Instead of retiring from life, they have grabbed for glory, climbing mountains and reaching across the world, conquering hatred and fear with love and courage!
I have met women, previously fallen from grace, now standing strong on their own, cradling babies bursting grandly into adulthood, growing up strong and giving life back to a world others would call cruel and unkind; transforming the very planet with love and grace;
I have seen the sick leap from their beds, saying, I have something to give, I shall not yet lie down, my life is not yet over!
And I have seen scores of people from all walks of life, from hedge fund manager to cab driver to garbage man to lawyer; I have seen them all, each day, laugh, cry, sweat, curse, and shout, as they work each day to bring their loved ones' dreams closer to reality. So many people, normal, flawed, imperfect; bless them as they drop their child at college. As they drive away, they think, I can't really afford this.... but she / he is my child, and I want them to have the opportunities that I did not have; I am investing in my baby, in the future. I believe in tomorrow, it will be better, if not for me then for my child; and I will work for twenty years more so it may happen, so my child may have a chance; because I believe in the future, the promise of tomorrow.
I may not love my work, but I love the child my labor will benefit.
I may never get a chance to become a tennis pro, but my child will get a chance to live her dream;
My great American novel will have to wait, because my child needs tuition money for college;
I may never sail my boat around the world, or lay on the beach, or invest the cash I've saved, because my son needs it to follow his dream;
And I will be a success because my children will have opportunity; and I will leave this world better than I found it, because I will have raised good children who have been educated and who will make the world better.
To you all, my brothers and sisters, to Iola,who lost her son Keith, but still held a race across the Brooklyn Bridge in his name; to Richie, who sent his son to become an engineer, even though he wanted him to join the family business; to each and every real person who gets up each morning to go to work because your kids need you to; to the RNs and EMTs who work all night so their kids can go to school in the morning; to the thousand million salt grains of the earth, I say to you, you shall all know heaven, because in your hearts you know love; you shall all be rewarded, for each day have you sacrificed; You will know joy, because with love in your hearts have you labored.
My brothers and sisters, think of the hope, pride, anxiety, and pain you have tasted each time you have left your child at another milepost; from the tearful first goodbye at kindergarten, through high school or college graduation. Remember the joys shared with their every accomplishment, the tears shared with their every frustration. Those moments are among your life's most intense.
Now imagine every face in the world, every grain of sand, every sparrow falling. Imagine sharing each moment of joy, pleasure, agony, and pain, as intently felt as when experiencing it with your own child.
If you can do this, friends, you can begin to imagine the beginning of the Lord's investment of Love in each of us. God cries at all our graduations, and funerals, and retirement parties; and His hand is on our shoulder in the moments no one else can see; the moments when we ask, Can I do this, I don't know; can I keep going when I want to quit; can I keep on coming through for the people who are depending on me?
Even when, yea, especially when you feel most alone, God is there at your shoulder, wing-man of wing-men, friend of all friends.
Just as love is the fuel of your sacrifice for your college kids, so is love the food of life, eternal life.
You're not alone friends, even though it may sometimes feel that way, as you pursue your life's labors of love; remember there is One who is always with you, through all of Love's Labors. Take the strength you need from the love, so you may keep it up , so you may
Surf on into the Light,
Your Friend, Reverend Buddy Lee
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