The shock was mildly traumatic for a seven-year-old on that March morning. A gaggle of elementary children, rushing toward a handful of their unsuspecting classmates – myself included.
Eyes flashed in mischievous glee, small hands stretching our direction. Too late we discovered our necks and arms were targets. The chubby fingers of our young assailants had been poised to strike any person in their line of vision – those whose garments did not display the magic color green.
The inevitable pinch followed. “Ouch!”
That morning at Wilson Grade School I got rudely introduced to a curiously labeled holiday – Saint Patrick’s.
To the surprise of many (leprechaun folklore and emerald-tinted beer aside), the ancient account of the authentic Saint Pat of history yields elements of intrigue. Patrick’s story rallies the imagination, stirs emotions, and inspires.
Saint Patrick, oddly enough, was not himself Irish.
The 16-year-old of fourth-century Britain was kidnapped and whisked off to Ireland by a band of marauding invaders. Sold into slavery he labored for years as a herdsman. In prayer he turned to Christ. The spiritual discipline of prayer would come to mark the pilgrim forever.
The pages of Patrick’s autobiography, Confessions, disclose a surprising turn of events lying ahead for this shepherd-boy slave. A dream came to him one night. In the dream, a voice spoke to him,
“Soon you will be returning to your own country”. What could this mean?
©2025 Jerry Lout
Indescribable. Must reading. Thanks, Bro. Lout.
Grateful, friend.
spiritual or physical, he returned a different person. Just as Joseph became a different person. A W Tozer said, ‘it is doubtful that God can greatly use s person until he greatly hurts him.’
Thank you. A saying that often comes to mind, “Nothing comes to Spring save through Winter”