The Swans
By
Vernette Kureck
“Which
of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake
instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Luke
11: 11-12 (NIV)
“Lord, it would be the
end of a perfect summer if I could just see those swans.” That was my lament a
couple years ago on a colorful, sunny day as my husband and I chugged around
Lake Nagawicka for the last boat ride of the season. We had heard that a family
of swans had taken up residence on the lake, but we had never seen them. As we
approached the entrance to our back channel, lo and behold, there they were,
looking beautiful and majestic in their white plumage. We parked the boat and I
ran down to the other end of the channel so I could enjoy their feeding frenzy
on the duckweed.
That following summer,
we had seen the swans every time we went out on the lake…and there were now
three families. Whenever I saw them, I was grateful and remember how sweetly
God honored my simple prayer the year before. John 14:13 says, “And I will do
whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You
may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (NIV) In my prayer life,
I have asked God for big things and small things, trusting that His perfect
will be done. Answers have come in the form of “yes,” “no” or “not now.”
Jesus loves to glorify
the Father, the Creator of all the universe. For me to enjoy those swans was to
bring praise to the Father’s workmanship. In the context of the above
Scripture, Jesus is teaching that the presence of the Holy Spirit in a
believer’s life is far more important than receiving material blessings. The
lesson for me last fall was to see how much the Lord was aware of my desires
expressed in less-than-ardent prayer form, and His willingness to give me the
good gift: seeing the swans. The lesson that summer - - every time I saw
the swans - - was how His good gifts are multiplied and manifested through the
Holy Spirit. My prayer became the last stanza of an old hymn: “God, who
touchest earth with beauty, make me lovely too. Keep me ever by thy
Spirit, pure and strong and true.” [1]
GOING DEEPER
1. Do you have any
natural reminders of answered prayer that lead you to praise God?
2. Which “good” gifts
have you been focusing on?
FURTHER READING:
[1] C.Harold
Lowden, “God, Who Touchest Earth With Beauty”
Vernette
and her husband Ken have been married 44 years. They have been blessed with
eight grandchildren from their two sons and their wives.
