Many of us have been blessed with a fine example(s) of Christian love and discipleship. On this anniversary of his birth it seems fitting to mention our Uncle Fred…
While seeing one another only a couple times a year, Uncle Fred let us know he loved us 
and was interested in our lives by connecting in other ways. He was a little like Paul with the Romans and Corinthians: he’d send us notes of encouragement – – a card at our birthday (enclosing 2 one dollar bills) and in later years would send us Valentine’s Day notes, sometimes with those little candy hearts in the envelope.
Few, if any, in my experience have been more generous. Whether he had it to give or not, our uncle could be counted on to contribute in some way to causes he considered worthy.
In our formative years we would come back to our Mom’s hometown and region for the Christmas holidays. Usually that time included a visit to Uncle Fred and Aunt Louise’s home for Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner it was on to worship at their church, complete with seeing Uncle Fred singing with The Men of Note and participating with the community. Uncle Fred lived his Christian faith for all to see; he didn’t need to tell us about the importance of church in life [though he’d willingly do that too! **:-) ]
PRAYER: Thank you, dear God, for the “Uncle Freds” in each of our lives. Help us to use their fine examples to shape our lives for more caring, loving, forgiving experiences… Amen
ACTIONS: As you go about your day…
- reflect on the “Uncle Freds” in your life and how they’ve shaped your faith
- consider who in your “relationship sphere” (niece/nephew, cousin, sibling, parent, friend or ???) might appreciate your expression of caring. Jot a note, a card and send it along (maybe including some candy hearts?) <3
- is there a worthy cause you were considering giving to with your time, treasure and/or talents? Maybe today is the day? 🙂
Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!
** a fun quote, attributed to our Grama, about her loquacious son: “Fred was inoculated with a phonograph needle”
Lectionary Texts for this Sunday, February 4, 2018:
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