Lucky?--An Essay

Here is a miniature essay I wrote recently in honor of today. (If you are not wearing green, give yourself a pinch for me! ;) )

“Lucky” is a word you often hear on Saint Patrick’s Day but I doubt that Patrick himself would have appreciated it. Kidnapped from his home in Great Britain and taken to Ireland to serve as a slave is not my definition of “lucky”. I think the 16 year old Patrick would agree. He had grown up in a religious family but until he was left alone in the Celtic country side to herd sheep he did not have his own love for God. Not much is really know about Ireland’s patron saint except that sometime, during these hard six years he met the Lord. After escaping and returning to England the young man became an ordained bishop and returned to the land of his slavery as a missionary. His life there was still not comfortable. The superstitious Irish, he was beaten, robbed, put in prison. Reportedly Patrick used the three leaved shamrock to illustrate the Trinity. He did eventually make some converts but when he died his memory was soon forgotten. Years after his death he was made a “saint” and began to be honored in many ways. One of these was in dedicating a holiday to him which is celebrated on March 17 in remembrance of the traditional day of his death. I think, if Patrick were alive today, he would be disappointed to find us celebrating magic, leprechauns, three leaved clovers and all the other things so commonly associated with the holiday. He would wish the true story to be put forth; the story of what he was beaten, robbed, and imprisoned for: the story of the One, fully God and fully man, who came to earth and died so that we might go to heaven and live.  Lucky? I don’t think so. Blessed with infinite and unfathomable grace? Now that is more like it.

A Dinner With 42

Grace flipped open her mail box and pulled out and odd assortment of business letters, advertisements, and letters from charities. Shutting the little door she turned her steps back up the paved driveway and began sorting through the envelopes. Mostly they were for her parents but an indigo blue one caught her attention and separating it out, she saw it was addressed to her. There was no return address. Curiously she tore it open and removed and ornately engraved envelope. Tucking the other parcels under her arm she opened it and began reading the following:

Miss Grace,

You are cordially invited to join us for a celebration luncheon. See you there!

There was no signature, no time, and no place. Entirely befuddled she closed it back up and took the other mail out from under her arm. In her surprise she nearly dropped it. Her family’s mail had somehow turned into a trim black clasp purse.

“Hey Mom!” She began running toward the house to show her Mom but midstride she froze. She was not on her driveway nor even near her house. She was in a huge room with a large dinning table taking up most of the center. At the table sat a group of 42 men she had never seen. Shrinking back she looked from one face to another for an explanation.

A man in a curly white wig rose from the head of the table, “Welcome Madam. You will be sitting there,” pointing with a finger nearly hidden under a sleeve of ruffles, “Next to Mr. Harrison.”

A man midway down the table stood up and pulled out and empty chair next to him. His white beard made him look a little grandfatherly and though his suit coat was unexplainably long in the back he was more sensibly dressed than Mr. Wig, and Ruffles.

Shyly glancing at the men closest to her she slid into the offered chair and only then noticed that she was wearing a dress. A long, expensive feeling dress whose material she could not name.

Mr. Harrison assumed his seat on her right and the gentleman on her left reached out a polite hand. “I am Mr. Cleveland.” His brown mustache had a humorous way of wiggling when he talked.

The man at the head of the table spoke again, “Now that our guest had arrived, shall we begin?”

A chorus of agreement followed. From across the table a partial blonde asked an entering waiter, “Are the chops courtesy of Mr. Arthur?” A ripple of laughter spread around the table but Grace tried to hide more in her chair. She was completely lost.

They were expecting her? She was being served dinner with them? How did she get here? Who were they?

“You are quite Madam.” Mr. Harrison startled her.

Someone who she didn’t see offered. “Does she say more than two words at once? If not she must be related to Mr. Coolidge.”

A man seven places to her left leaned forward and began to look at her very hard. “She’s not.”

Another ripple of laughter and Grace felt her face heating up at being the center of attention.

“Perhaps Miss Grace would like to hear some about us rather than hear us talk about her?” That came from a gaunt looking man with dark hair and a matching beard traveling around his chin who sat on the other side of the table.

“That is a good idea sir. Though I have a feeling there is not much we could tell her. The world knows just about everything we would wish to tell.”

Grace felt her courage surge. “Please,” She turned toward the head of the table, “Would you tell me who you are?”

“Who we are?” Mr. Harrison echoed. “My dear Madam, isn’t it obvious? We are the presidents!”

I wrote this short little story for two reason: One, because today is President's Day. So, happy President's Day fellow authors and kind readers!

Two, because I wanted to acknowledge someone  very special today. You guessed it--Grace, our moderator! It is her birthday so I decided to  star her in my short story. I don't know how accurate I was in portraying what she would really do if dropped into the above situation but I did my best!

Happy, happy, birthday Grace! Thanks for being a wonderful moderator...oh, and friend too! ;) I hope you enjoyed the story!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! Don't forget the greatest love ever shown:

John 3:16

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Also, if any of you haven't participated in the challenge and want to, remember, today is the last day!