Comfort and Mango
Mike Dwyer / Executive Pastor of Operations and Care
God is the great Comforter. Indeed, this is one of the names for the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist prays in 119:76, “May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise…”
My father-in-law, Ernie, passed away just before Christmas. Although he was 93 and starting to fail as a result of a fall, the quickness of his death following a surgery and good recovery, was unexpected. My wife and her father were very close. She saw him several times each week before the fall (he lived in Niagara Falls). Afterwards she visited him in the hospital, rehab center, assisted living and second hospital on a daily basis.
Karen was eight years older than her brother and was the apple of Ernie’s eye. His death has been very difficult for her and the grief has been coming hard every day. Family, friends, and the church have been wonderful in reaching out with words of comfort and compassion. Matthew 5:4 says, “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Recently, my wife has received comfort in a, shall we say, “unusual and unexpected way.”
For the midwinter school break, our daughter and her family went away on vacation to Hawaii. Our 16-year-old granddaughter, Bella, asked if we would watch her pet sun conure, Mango. Mango is a medium-sized parrot, mostly yellow and green with orange coloring around his eyes. She saved up out of her wages at work and purchased him and his accoutrements. He is now nine months old, which bird experts say is equivalent to a young teenager. He can be loud at times; he has a good temperament with only the occasional nip. He bops to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” He is for the most part a fun, gentle, and very social, even snuggly, creature. And amazingly he has been a great source of comfort for Karen. They play together and he makes her smile!
Our God is the Lord over all things; men and parrots among them. Why wouldn’t He use each to bless one another. Our God is the God of comfort. Thank you, God, and thank you, Mango.