Today is All Saints Day. A day when the saints of days gone by are remembered and honoured.
According to Wycliffs Bible Encyclopedia, a saint is “any believer who is “in Christ” and in whom Christ dwells, whether in Heaven or on Earth.”
“We are trav’ling in the footsteps
Of those who’ve gone before …”
When I think of the title of Saint, I think of a combination of individuals who have been canonized (deceased individuals added to the canon, or list by the Catholic Church) as well as others who simply (though life is never simple) lived their life in faith and commitment to Christ.
I think of newly canonized (September, 2016) Mother Teresa, who worked tirelessly with and for the poor in Calcutta, India.
I think of Mary, the Mother of God, who lived a life of faith, as perhaps no other before, or after her.
Saint Valentine, the man who gave money to poor families, so as to provide the necessary dowries needed for women to secure a good husband, and future life.
I also think of my grandmother, who loved God and shared his love with her neighbours and her family in every conceivable way.
I think of the gentle, Christian man who drove my school bus. He kept us kids safe, and did his job with the greatest humility.
I think of the couple who pastored for many, many years, faithfully loving people, and putting skin on the love of God.
We all have saints in our lives. They are the faithful who live their lives, pointing the world around them to the giver of life, of breath, purpose and redemption.
Life would not be the same without them in our lives … past, present and future.
“But we’ll all be reunited
On a new and sunlit shore
O when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in”
itsawonderfilledlife 