All of us at Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma send you greetings and best wishes at the beginning of this New Year.
God loves stories. The Bible revolves around stories, and Jesus was a master story teller. I hope you like stories. In reading folk lore you"ll find wisdom to help on your life's journey.
The story of Jacob, in Genesis, is about a spiritual traveler. Like all of us, Jacob was flawed. After tricking his brother, Esau, and deceiving his father, Isaac, Jacob ran away from home.
Decades later, Jacob decided to return to his home and people. Enroute he spent a long night wrestling with an unidentified man. Was it his own conscience? Guilt often ignites civil war within .
In that all night nightmare, Jacob realized God's presence was with him. He asked himself: "Am I traveling in the right direction?" And he determined that the right direction for him was to trust God, and to affirm God's presence by practice - to treat others the way he wanted to be treated.
Happy travels in the right direction in this New Year.
In friendship,
Richard
A PEARL OF VALUE
When we learn to respect ourselves,
it becomes easier to respect others.
