April 6, 2023

website admin2023 Lenten Devotional

Prompt thought of the week:

The disciples must have been excited and terrified all at once. The entrance into Jerusalem for Passover week had turned into a big deal. How would Jesus be received, by the people and by the authorities? And an entrance can define perception! Surely they would make as big a splash of confidence as possible. And then Jesus asks for a donkey. “A…donkey?!” Once again, Jesus demonstrates a love for peace and a love for common people by creating an entrance that proclaimed the power of God’s “kin-dom of heaven,” not Herod’s kingdom of oppression. Looking for love? Keep your eyes out for it in unexpected places.


I have a friend, older than I am (and those are getting harder and harder to find) who just recently moved into an Assisted Living Home.  Within the last several years, he lost his wife and tried living alone but had medical issues which that made that very hard.  So after much reluctance, he  found an apartment in a beautiful senior development here in Napa.

However, he didn’t want to sell his home or get rid of the things he loved, so his decision was that he would just “try” on this new way of living and see if it fit.  And it did—- so the decision to sell now became a reality.

But this was a hard reality because it meant sorting through his life—all of the memories that were linked to the things he now needed to get rid of.   So he hired a company to come and hold an estate sale.

But this too,  was much easier said than done as it was an emotional process seeing his past (and life) up for sale.  However, the day before the sale, the agent called and asked him to come over as he had found something that he wanted to give him.

When he arrived, he was handed a well-worn leather wallet.  Her examined it and knew it wasn’t his, but upon opening it, found a hundred dollar bill and two two dollar bills.  He immediately thought of his father who always carried a hundred dollar bill and who loved collecting two dollar bills.  And sure enough, the identification cards in the wallet were those of his father who had passed away many years before. 

He did not remember receiving the wallet, but now, here it was—-along with wonderful memories of his father and his life growing up.

 It was as though the discovery of the wallet took away the pain of leaving the past.

 When my friend told me this story, it brought tears to my eyes.  Not because it was a sad story, but because of the unexpected gift that was found at exactly the time it was needed.  

I think it is proof that God does look after us and is there for us.  

Kathy Martin