God will provide

 “I tell you this: Do not worry about your life. Do not worry about what you are going to eat and drink. Do not worry about what you are going to wear. Is not life more important than food? Is not the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They do not plant seeds. They do not gather grain. They do not put grain into a building to keep. Yet your Father in heaven feeds them! Are you not more important than the birds? Which of you can make himself a little taller by worrying?  Why should you worry about clothes? Think how the flowers grow. They do not work or make cloth. But I tell you that Solomon in all his greatness was not dressed as well as one of these flowers. God clothes the grass of the field. It lives today and is burned in the stove tomorrow. How much more will He give you clothes? You have so little faith! Do not worry. Do not keep saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘What will we wear?’ 

Matthew 6:25-31 New Life Version 

 A few weeks ago our local high school approached our church asking for donations of backpacks and supplies for homeless students in our school district. The small group of us who first heard this was taken aback. Homeless kids in our town? How was that possible? Our town is not a big city where homeless men drink from brown paper bags under train trestles or abused young mothers herd their toddlers into women’s shelters. I live in “small town America”. There are no homeless people here.

Yet, looking back, though I don’t know of any homeless adults in my life, I could name a half dozen high school kids who at one time would have been classified as homeless. For whatever reason, they were no longer welcomed in their own homes, the adults who were responsible for them no longer wanted them or these kids just couldn’t remain in the household. 

It’s tough enough being a teen-ager, but to not know which friend’s house you are going to crash at tonight or if you can sneak back into your parent’s house after they are in bed. I can’t imagine.

Please pray for these kids – I bet that you have them in your community as well. Get involved, donate to your homeless shelter, work at your local food pantry. Be aware of who is walking the streets of your town. If you get the chance, remind them that they have a Father who would never turn them out and one day a home in heaven where they can find rest. 

Patricia Ann and Nicholas Ryan

I almost forgot it was Tuesday and didn't post a blog. When I have my act together, and my head isn't in the clouds, I try to write each blog a day or two ahead of time. That way I avoid that nine pm crunch. Speaking of crunch, I had a compulsion to bake cookies tonight so that is how I squandered part of my evening.

Now that the dust has settled and reality has set in  - in a few short months I may have my own book in my hands - I find myself wandering back to where this all really started. Sure, I always wanted to write, ever since I could write, but who was it that gave me the dream, believed in me? There was Mrs. Nocco in the six grade and Mrs. Hanson in Freshman English. 

But late at night, when I couldn't sleep, I knew I could call my sister Pat. She maybe didn't appreciate it but she did appreciate that, along with everything else we had in common, we felt the need to write. Some day, when I have a few more books under my belt, when I have a few more literary connections, my dream is to publish the book she started writing when she was in high school. She worked on it up until a couple years before she died. It still needs a little work, but I think that some day it will make it in to print. If I can do it, surely Pat can.

It took me awhile to figure out why I picked these two pictures. My sister Pat and my son Nick. They have an awful lot in common. Perfectionist tops the list. Just like Pat, though, I can pretty much reach Nick at the dumbest times. I can count on him to be on-line at midnight as well as six am. 

I feel bad that I couldn't find any pictures of Aunt Pat with Val, but just you wait Val, your turn will come.