I Wish You Enough

 

Recently, at an airport boarding gate, a man overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. Her flight departure had been announced, and they were standing near the security gate. They hugged each other and he said, “I love you. I wish you enough.” She in turn 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 and she left. He walked over toward the window where the man was seated. Just standing there staring at the airplane as it departed the gate the man could see the father wanted and needed to cry. The father turned to the man sitting there, not wanting to intrude on his privacy but desiring a friendly conversation with someone asked, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?” Welcoming the solicitation to converse the man replied, “Yes, I have. Forgive me for asking, but why is this, a forever good-bye?” Looking back toward the window, the plane now gone, the already lonely father said, “I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, her next trip will be for my funeral.” Then the man asked, “When you were saying good-bye, I heard the two of you say, ‘I wish you enough;’ may I ask what that means?” The father began to smile and took the seat next to the man. “That’s a wish that’s been handed down for many generations in my family. My parents said it to everyone.” He paused for a moment looking off into space as if remembering it in detail. He smiled even more. “When we said, ‘I wish you enough,’ we are wishing for the other person a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.” Then turning toward the man, he shared the following: “I wish you enough sunshine to keep your attitude bright; I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sunshine 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 lose to appreciate all you possess; And I wish you enough ‘Hello’s’ to get you through the final ‘Good-bye’” With tears in his eyes, the old man stood and walked away.

[1 John 2:15-17] The media is always bombarding us with things we know we cannot afford and things we will never have. But people dream anyway. They dream of being rich, owning large tracts of land with acre after rolling acre. They desire sports cars and speed boats, or cattle and horses. They have a picture in their mind of that “dream house” and being a jet-setter. Some dream of power and prestige. Some will do anything to make their dreams come true. They desperately want to be active participants in the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Practicality and reality are not qualities and truths that enter their minds often. So, what is your dream? What is it you want more than anything else in your life? Hopefully it has nothing to do with the things of this world. Jesus said, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). This is a question that ought to give pause for serious reflection. Is pursuing any worldly dream of wealth, power or fame worth losing your soul? Jesus implies, absolutely not! These things are not only temporal and slated for destruction (2 Peter 3:10), but just the desire for them, not even the acquisition, can damn our souls. If we are going to dream then let’s dream (anticipate), gaining heaven. Don’t let the excitement of going there be choked out by the mundane trinkets this world has to offer. Our most imaginative dreams cannot compare with the joys and glory of heaven. I wish you enough to be comfortable but not miss heaven for the world!