I Wish You Enough

I'll be the first to admit that there are times when I open my email and think "not another forward!!" As a general rule, I do try and read (or at least skim) most of them. Yesterday, I received an email from Dave with the title "I Wish You Enough." That in and of itself was intriguing enough to make me want to at least look at it. To avoid copying the whole email, especially if you've seen it before, let me summarize the story. (written 8 Apr 08)

A man is in the airport waiting on a flight when he hears and sees a farewell between a mother and daughter. After daughter's departure, mom seems sad and talks to him when he is seated nearby. His curiosity about a phrase they used generates a question, and the lady explains that "I wish you enough" was a family phrase. The poem that she used to explain made sense, and is listed below. It struck me so much so that I sent it forward, and made me think, hence this devotion. What the lady told the gentleman is as follows:

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Think of these words, and how Jesus does these things for us. Does not the bright sunshine lift your spirits? After a rainstorm, do we not appreciate the sun? When we are happy, it builds us up and helps get us through times that have the potential to drag us down. Pain, while not necessarily welcomed (at least not by most), reminds us that we are human and can hurt, but also reminds us that this, too, shall pass. Getting a small reward can fulfill a need we thought only a large reward could fill. Every loss reminds us of just how precious life is, and how thankful we should be for what we have. When we say hello to Jesus and accept Him into our life as Lord and Savior, the "final good-bye" will be a gateway to going home for good.

The email ended with the phrase, "And to all my friends, I wish you enough." I do not know where it generated from, or who to credit as author. If you think of these words, apply them to your life. To you, my friends, I offer this wish: Jesus IS enough, for He is everything, and so, I, too, "wish you enough."

Jesus, thank you for being my "enough," for being my sunshine and rain, my loss and gain. Help me to live each day so that others see the same in me and that I live for you.

"If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" ~John 14:7-9 NIV