Some time back, columnist Sheila Graham shared a compelling interview with Ruby Bridges Hall. Though she wasn’t aware of it at the time, Ruby was the first African-American child to integrate into a particular grade school in New Orleans in 1960.

You can picture her as a typical first-grader, with a big bow in her hair and lunch box in hand. But every day on her way to school, escorted by armed federal marshals, she braved angry people shouting at her as she entered an empty classroom. White parents had moved their children to other schools. Ruby did not realize until later when a little boy told her why he couldn’t play with her, that she was the reason for all the commotion.

In her interview, Sheila Graham noted that even in midst of this stressful, hostile situation, little Ruby prayed every day, before and after school. She even prayed for those angry people who had been shouting at her.

Ruby Bridges Hall explained it this way: “One thing my mother always said to me was that when she couldn’t be with me if I was ever afraid, I should say my prayers . . . Even at night, if I would wake up from a nightmare and want to get up and go to her room, she would immediately ask, Did you say your prayers?’ That’s where that came from and it sort of stuck with me.”

Ruby’s mother gave her a powerful tool. Ruby grew up knowing that she was never alone. She knew that she was connected to a power far greater than herself. And she knew that the abiding presence of God would carry her through.

Let us pray: Gracious God, we often find ourselves frightened, anxious, worried about the future. Remind us that we too are connected to a power far greater than ourselves. Help us to turn to you and to trust you; through Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love the story about a man who wanted to take his money with him beyond the grave. One evening, when he was thinking about death, he prayed fervently about this. An angel appeared to him and said, “Sorry, you can’t take all your wealth with you after death, but the Lord will allow you to take one suitcase. Fill it with whatever you wish.” Overjoyed the man got the largest suitcase he could find and filled it with pure gold bars. Soon afterward he died and showed up at the gates of heaven.

St. Peter, seeing the suitcase, said skeptically, “Hold on, you can’t bring that in here with you.” The man explained that an angel had given him special permission. Peter checked it out with the angel Gabriel and the story was verified. “Okay,” said Peter, “You can bring the suitcase in with you, but first I’m curious, I’ve got to see what you brought.” He opened the suitcase to identify what worldly items this man had considered too precious to leave behind. “I don’t believe it!” said Peter. “You brought pavement?”

The story is funny, and it carries a grain of truth. Many of the things we feel are valuable in this life are not the same things we will find valuable at the end of life.

In the midst of life, we are often focused on what we can accumulate: wealth, titles, power, prestige. But at the end of life, most people tend to be more concerned with the relationships they cultivated – or failed to cultivate: friends, neighbors, and family.

The old bumper sticker, “He who dies with the most toys wins,” is quickly countered by a second bumper sticker, “He who dies with the most toys, still dies.”

The truth is the love, hope, and peace that we share with the world while we are here, live on well beyond us in the lives of those we’ve touched.

At the end of a memorial service I attended years ago, the pastor left us with this challenge:

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. May you live your life in such a way that we when you die, the world cries, and you rejoice.”

Let us pray: We remember today, O God, that our time here on earth is limited. In the gift of the time that we have left, help us to leave the world a better place through our giving and through our loving. Amen.

There is a story about a young girl who was coloring a picture. Her teacher asked her what she was drawing. The little girl said, “I’m drawing a picture of God.” “But no one knows what God looks like,” the teacher responded. The little girl looked the teacher in the eye and said firmly, “After I’m done here they will!”

I imagine that’s what God said about Jesus. After I send my Son, they’ll know what I look like. After I’m done here they will know that I am forgiving and compassionate. After I’m done here they will know about love and sacrifice.

There is something about sacrificial giving that resonates deep within us. It reminds us what God has done for us. Today in our country, is Memorial Day. It is a day when we remember the sacrifice others have made on our behalf. May their sacrificial giving invoke gratitude and may it inspire our own sacrificial generosity toward others.

Let us pray: Loving God, we thank you for the freedom we have here in this country: the freedom to worship you, the freedom to vote, the freedom to live where we want and to choose our careers and relationships. What a blessing! We thank you also for the men and women who have served this country in the military over the years, for their families, and for all those who sacrificed for the sake of others. We pray especially today for veterans, those who need your love and our support. Bring healing and mercy where it is needed. And hasten the day on Earth when wars will cease and your peace will reign. Above all, we thank you for the sacrificial love you give to us in the gift of your Son – who gave his life for us. In response to all our blessings – as individuals and as a nation – show us ways that we can be a blessing to others; for we remember today that you bless us to be a blessing! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In an old Dennis the Menace comic, Dennis and his friend Joey are leaving Mrs. Wilson’s house, their hands full of cookies. Joey says, “I wonder what we did to deserve this.” Dennis answers, “Look, Joey. Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies not because we’re nice, but because she’s nice.”

I love that. It resonates with me because that is the way God loves. God loves us not because we are good – but because God is good! In fact, the Bible tells us that we all fall short of the glory of God and that there is nothing we can do to earn God’s grace. But in spite of that, God loves us anyway.

The book of Ephesians assures us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast…”

While we might not always deserve it, God’s grace, forgiveness, and mercy extend even to us – even now. Thanks be to God!

Let us pray: Help us, O God, to accept that we are accepted and loved. May we live out of a deep awareness of this gift – and find ways to share it with a world desperately in need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The late Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and author of several books on death and dying, told the true story of an old woman who worked for many years in a Chicago hospital, mopping floors. She noticed that whenever this woman left the room of a dying patient, that patient always, without exception, was happier and more at peace than before she had entered.

Having observed this happen again and again over a period of time, Dr. Kubler-Ross was determined to find out what was going on. She invited the old woman to her office for a conference. As they talked, she discovered that this poor, uneducated, wrinkled cleaning woman had faced a great deal of poverty, suffering, and tragedy in her life.

In fact, the woman shared that her three-year-old son died in her arms while she had waited in a public health clinic for him to be treated for pneumonia. “You see, doctor,’ the old woman said, “Dying patients are just like old acquaintances to me, and I’m not afraid to touch them, to talk with them, or to offer them hope.”

Ultimately one of our greatest gifts to the world around us is hope. Not blind hope that pretends everything is fine and refuses to acknowledge how things are. But the kind of hope that comes from staring pain and suffering right in the eyes and refusing to believe that this is all there is. Hope that comes not from going around suffering – but going through it and recognizing God even in the midst of it.

I pray today that you would trust that God is with you even in the darkest moments of life. And, may you be willing to walk with others through theirs. Your presence, your hope, and your faith are a real gift. As we share these gifts, our own faith and hope deepen.

Let us pray: There is no doubt, O God, that you have blessed us beyond measure. As we notice these blessings, may we live and give out of this abundance. In Christ’s name. Amen.