St. Patrick

When I was arranging my wedding one of the places I called upon hearing my name asked if I was marrying an Irish boy. Roger does has some Irish blood mixed with the British.

At times being Irish can be embarrassing, and the way people act on St. Paddy's Day would be one of them.

But as for the original saint, he inspires me. After being captured as a slave by the Irish and escaping, he felt God calling him back to the land of his captivity to reach the Irish with the gospel.

What I really like about his approach is he didn't try to rob the Irish of all of their customs. He didn't try to turn them into British Christians. They kept their own flavor to their faith. That was brilliant, and the missionary movement of later years sure could have learned from him.

As I minister to others of different culture than myself may God give me the wisdom to allow their own practices to continue, and yet follow Christ. Thank you St. Patrick for showing the way.