This Bud's For You: A Blessing For Your Weekend

Photo Credit: Mark Grace

Linda was walking down one of the hallways at Parkland when one of her chaplain colleagues, Stacy Merlin, stopped her.

"What is this?" Stacy asked as she gently pressed her thumb on the spot right between and above her eyes.

Startled, Linda, said something like, "What do you mean?"

"This wrinkle in your brow," said Stacy.  

I've seen that wrinkle in Linda's brow before and I know what Stacy was talking about.  It is usually accompanied by a distinct down turn of the corners of her mouth and it usually means that she is wrestling with a particularly difficult issue.  Life is pretty intense at Parkland these days, so none of us are surprised to see a Parkland employee walking down the hallway wrestling over problems that need solving.

"I was startled out of my worry by that encounter," Linda told me later.  "That small gesture brought me back to myself."

Later she came into the office to find the rose in its vase with the note that you see in the picture above.  "For all you do, this bud's for you," says the note.  You can imagine how much those small gestures meant to my wife, and how much it helped to relieve unnecessary burdens.

For all you do, my prayer is that you find someone to smooth the wrinkle from your brow, to encourage you to pause mid-stride and to gift you with friendship and support.

Then maybe you can do it for someone else- either way, you are bound to be blessed.

Photo Credit: www.crosscards.com