A BLESSING THAT KEEPS ON BLESSING!
My message on Sunday focused on how we are very blessed in this life, and how those blessings come to us even more when we bless others without expecting anything in return. I shared a story of two friends of the church, Mike and his wife Judy, who recently died. Mike and Judy invited me to dinner at their home in Poipu before they returned to their other home in Washington State; and I shared on Sunday about the blessings I have seen from that one simple act to bless me, two of their other friends and Mike’s niece. It was a magical evening on their lanai…next to the lawn…next to the ocean…(much like to picture above)…with wonderful conversation and an over-the-top catered dinner created by Chef Tom Ryan of Custom Catering Hawaii. Sadly, Judy died on the evening of April 30. I remember sharing the news of her unexpected passing in church the next morning.
During the following week, I began planning a way to honor Judy. One of the last things she said to me as I was leaving their home on the night they treated me to dinner was, “I just LOVE Hawaiian flowers!” (I had just given Mike and her a set of greeting cards from the Hawaiian flowers I had painted.) So I asked Chef Tom if he would be interested in helping me to create a special gift to the National Tropical Botanical Gardens in Judy’s memory. Since their annual fundraising event was coming up in August, I asked Tom if he would consider donating a meal that would be combined with one of my paintings (below). Tom told me that he would be honored to donate a meal in Judy’s memory. The gift grew, with the help of others, and the blessings continued. Rather than writing down the rest of the details, I am attaching a video of Sunday’s sermon HERE, so that you can hear all about it.
As you watch the video, I invite you to consider how you might be a blessing to others, knowing that you will be blessed in return. I also invite you to pay attention to the ways you are blessed…and give thanks.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
P.S. In my sermon, I mistakenly referred to Mike’s “daughter”; I meant to say “niece.” I also referred to seeing the island of “Lanai”; I meant to say “Niihau” (although that would be really cool to see Lanai from the south shore of Kauai!).
‘ILIAHI © Alan Akana 2016
To see a video of Kahu’s sermon on Sunday, click HERE.
You are invited to join us for worship at 10:30 on Sunday mornings at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
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