A Midnight Blessing

I'm past my deadline tonight, but wanted to post something, anything as I promised myself no matter how imperfect. I'm even posting from my tiny browser on my phone because the internet signal in my hotel room is not working on my laptop. So my offering tonight to this blog project is a comment on blessing others. The training I'm at this week puts me in front of some folks who I would describe as giants in the faith. As I get older I appreciate my elders more and more. As I've been humbled in my twenties, I have moved out of the 19 year-old I-know-more-than-the-old-folks-my-generation-is-gonna-change-the-world phase into the help-me-I'm-clueless phase. I got to hear a giant named Les speak this morning about the power of blessing others with our words and prayers for them. Speaking God's heart and even His very words over someone has transformative power. They are not just empty phrases and well wishes.

Another giant of the faith who was in our teaching this morning shared a beautiful story about a father he knew who would speak a small (but powerful mind you) blessing over his sons each morning before school. One morning the dad had left for his morning jog before getting a chance to send his sons off for the day. The dad found silly polyester pants to be more comfortable to jog in despite their awkward, non-athletic appearance. That morning he ran to his sons' bus stop in order to catch them in time to bless them. The sons, seeing their father approaching in his creative get up, hoped the bus would arrive before their father for fear of utter embarrassment. No such luck for them. Blessing completed, then the bus arrived. Years later when both sons happened to be attending the same college, they called their dad one afternoon asking if he could come visit. They had 50 male friends lined up and waiting in their dorm for him to come speak a blessing over each one of them because they had never had someone do that for them. The sons may have been embarrassed that morning at the bus stop, but they wanted to share their father and the gift of a blessing that he had given them so many times over.

I am called to receive God's blessing for me, his love, grace, acceptance, and then from the overflow of that, share what I have received with others. It is a beautiful and wonderful experience to grab a friend or a YL kid and speak power and blessing over them. If only I were brave enough to be more vulnerable and do this more often. To anyone reading, thank you for encouraging me in the midst of a very real struggle and transforming year. May God grant you compassion as you have bestowed it upon me. May God grant you friendship, encouragement, and support as you have given these to me. May God grant you love and acceptance as you have listened and taken me in. For all that I've experienced through each of you, may you receive it back from those in your life ten-fold. May God bless you and keep you. You are loved.