The Tenacious Irish (03/17/2024)

If you don’t know I’m Irish, then we’ve never met. I’m Irish down to my socks. Today I will be wearing the green in some shape or form. And today I’ll be remembering my roots, the very thing that gives me the foundation I need to stretch for the heaven.

My maiden name is Boyle. Our crest is the oak tree. While most can only see the strength in branches that reach for the heavens, the wise recognize the strength really lies in the roots. And our roots are our faith, hope and love of our LORD, the source of our being. How fitting it is that without ceasing we reach for Him from whom we came.

Today we will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. We’ll recall his gift of Christianity to the Isle that previously held him captive as a slave. He loved the LORD and he loved the Irish. To him, nothing could have been better than to bring Christ to the Irish and the Irish to Christ. And when he won his freedom, he returned to the Emerald Isle to do just that.

There are so many things I love about being Irish. Perhaps one of the greatest is the inbred tenacity. To the non-Irish it may appear to be stubbornness, to the trained, native eye, it is perseverance to the point of virtue.

We appreciate unity. The only thing better than sitting in a village pub surrounded by one’s best friends is sitting in the pew on Sunday surrounded by family and friends knowing we are in the presence of our LORD.

We find reminders of our LORD’s existence everywhere, in the shamrock, in the green of the land. We can’t take a walk without falling under influence of “Him in whom we live and move and have our being.”

I’ve always known and said “God looks after fools and short Irish women, so I’m doubly blessed.” And I know it is true. I am short. And I’m pretty sure I’ve been foolish more than most. But more than anything else, I know that the LORD is and I am only because of the LORD.

So, today, if you join the rest of the world and seek out the local feast of corn beef, cabbage, and potatoes, perhaps you’ll spot me at a table nearby. I’ll be wearing green.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.