No. 886 I PRAY YOU ENOUGH!

No. 886

Jim Davidson -- NEWSPAPER COLUMN

I PRAY YOU ENOUGH!

One of my good friends whom I deeply respect is former Hendrix College basketball coach Cliff Garrison, who lives here in Conway, Arkansas. Over the years we have exchanged many excellent e-mails that have served to lift our spirits. In these days of “hard times” for millions of Americans, we all need to be reminded on a regular basis of just how blessed we truly are. Some time ago, Cliff sent me an e-mail titled “I pray you enough” that is excellent and I wanted to share it with you. Hope it blesses you as it has me.
The story by an unknown author begins, “Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, ‘I love you and I pray you enough.’ The daughter replied, ‘Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I pray you enough, too, Mom.’ They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, ‘Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?’
“Yes, I have, I replied. ‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?’ ‘Well, I am not as young as I once was. She lives so far away and has her own busy life. I have some challenges ahead, and the reality is - her next trip back will be for my funeral,’ she said. ‘When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I pray you enough.’ May I ask what that means?’ She began to smile. ‘That is a prayer that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.’ She paused for a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more. ‘When we said, ‘I pray you enough,’ we wanted the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.’
“Then, turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory. ‘I pray you enough sun to keep your attitude bright, no matter how gray the day may appear. I pray you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more. I pray you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting. I pray you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger. I pray you enough gain to satisfy all your wanting. I pray you enough loss of appetite to appreciate all that you possess. I pray you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.’ Then she began to cry and walked away.”
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them. Now, here is a choice that you and you alone will have to make. If you pray, share this with many of the people you will never forget, and remember to send it back to the person who sent it to you. If you don’t send it to anyone, it may mean that you are in such a hurry that you have forgotten your friends. Take time to live, because I pray you enough.
When I finished this piece that Cliff sent me, what came to mind was the young man in a California prison that I have told you about. While I don’t know him at all in a personal way, I care and “I pray him enough” faith to depend on God and His Holy Spirit to see him through the long days ahead and that he will truly make something of his life.
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(EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Davidson is a public speaker and syndicated columnist. You may contact him at 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034. To begin a bookcase literacy project visit www.bookcaseforeverychild.com. You won’t go wrong helping a needy child.)