Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with this heartwarming devotion:
He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psalm 24:5
My birthday falls on March 14, just three days shy of St. Patrick’s Day. So through the years, many of my birthday parties have conveniently adopted a St. Patrick’s Day theme. Just imagine pots of fake gold for centerpieces, gold-foiled chocolate coins for favors, and lots of shamrocks and leprechauns perched on cakes. There’s really no reason for me to imagine I have anything in common with Patrick, since my forbearers are as much Scottish and English as they are Irish. But since he always shows up at my parents’ house on March 14, I decided to better acquaint myself with him.
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The first thing I learned was that he was far from a saint in his early years. Okay, so we had that in common. Patrick was a self-professed pagan and only found the Christian faith during a stint in prison. He studied in a monastery where he found his life’s passion. I’m not sure where the leprechauns, rainbows and pots of gold came in to the mix, but Patrick spent more than thirty years converting the Celtic Druids and building schools and churches across Ireland.
READ MORE: 8 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About St. Patrick
I also discovered that there is one truth hidden in all those birthday decorations my mom comes up with every year. It’s hidden within the green shamrock. History says that Patrick used the shamrock in his sermons as a visual to represent the Trinity, showing how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit can all exist as separate parts of the same entity.
Not a bad takeaway for a sermon or, for that matter, a birthday party!
God, all I have to do is look and I can find You—not just in celebrations, but in everything I see, hear and do.
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