"WISH YOU ENOUGH, PART 2"

 At the Denver airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced the daughter's plane’s departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, “I love you, I wish you enough.”

She said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.” They kissed good-bye and she left.

He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?” “Yes, I have,” I replied.

Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was experiencing.

“Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?” I asked.

“I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral, ” he said.

“When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?”

He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.

“When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them,” he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye.” He then began to sob and walked away.

Many of us were alive when the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy occurred in 1963.     The “Babushka Lady” is one of the mysteries surrounding the assassination of JFK. Captured on film recording the events with a movie camera, she has proven to be elusive. This mystery woman, wearing an overcoat and scarf, resembling a Russian babushka, has never been identified and her film has never been seen. For decades, historians and scholars have speculated the "Babushka Lady" and her movie recording could provide the real answers to the critical and lingering questions as to what really happened on that dark November day.

What does God "wish enough" for each of us? First, we are taught God "wishes enough" for us to repent of our sinful nature and trust Jesus as our Savior (Romans 10:9). Secondly, God "wishes enough" for us to love Him and love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Mark 10:30-32). Third, God "wishes enough" for us to be happy and give us the desires of our heart (Psalms 37:4). Fourth, God "wishes enough" for us to be healthy which starts with our souls (3 John 1:2) (Isaiah 58:11). Finally, God "wishes enough" for us to prosper. (Psalms 37:3) (Jeremiah 29:11)

Simply stated God wants us, every single one of us. It is that simple. He just wants each of us as His children. He wants a loving relationship with His earthly children, and He wants us to take His love and make it our wheelhouse in treating our fellow human beings with love and respect. In short, He wants us all to be one, big, happy family.

One of the most exigent and inescapable questions we must ask ourselves; Has the Good Lord "wished enough" for you to belong to Him every day or are you as elusive as the "Babushka Lady"?

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us more than we can comprehend, complete with a lifetime guarantee that nothing and no one can ever separate us from Your love (Romans 8:38-39). Thank You for Your amazing grace to love us even when we have disappointed You in our rebellious sin. Thank You Lord for the everlasting assurance that "Whenever God Shines His Light" on us, everything is going to be alright!