On the first day of Vacation Bible School in my rural parish, I asked the children to bring their Bibles with them the following night. When Valerie came to me and said, “I don’t have a Bible,” I promised her I would find one for her. But when, on the next evening, I had to tell her one had not yet been purchased, she walked away with a disappointed look. Then, a few feet away, she turned back and said, “How about a loaner?” So it came to be that my Bible was loaned to Valerie. She promised, “I will take good care of it,” then added, “My brother Henry does not have a Bible either.” The next day I went to the Christian bookstore, bought two Bibles, and brought them to her home. She was thrilled to have her own Bible, thanked me, and returned my Bible. As I left, she yelled out the door, “My mom does not have a Bible either!”

As I reflected on that day, I thought, If only we all were that thirsty for God. Or as thirsty as the wonderful neighbor who graciously showed this family how to read their Bibles.

          Mary Leigh Boyd Hovland , Co-Chaplain, Bethesda Grand, Willmar, Minnesota,

          God Pause, Luther Seminary

¹⁰For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

                                                Isaiah 55: 10-11

Praise and thanks to you, holy God, for by your Word you made all things: you spoke light into darkness, called forth beauty from chaos, and brought life into being. Through Jesus, your Word made flesh, you speak to us and call us to witness: forgiveness through the cross, life to those entombed by death, the way of your self-giving love.

Send your Spirit of truth, O God; rekindle your gifts within us: renew our faith, increase our hope, and deepen our love, for the sake of a world in need. Faithful to your Word, O God, draw near to all who call on you; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever.

Amen.

                             Adapted, Thanksgiving for the Word, ELW, Service of the Word