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Some of my best ideas come from my 81 year old mother. Few of our conversations end without her (like most mothers) offering feedback (some of it solicited and most of it unsolicited lol) on what i should do, or how I can improve. So, yesterdays’ conversation was no exception. After a half hour of meandering dialogue on a variety of subjects, she casually interjected: “you should see if you get in touch with Mrs. Cosgrove—you sure talk about her all the time.”

I bust out laughing, because I knew she was right. Mrs. Cosgrove stands atop the list of my favorite teachers (a list that includes Brother George—who I’ve written about before, Brother Ed, Doctor D, Dr. Stephens and Mr Hill being the others). She was my eighth grade English teacher at Holy Redeemer Elementary School in Freeport, New York. Mrs. Cosgrove was a short, honey-haired firecracker of a woman, who used to brag that she would teach us students “all that we would ever need to know about the English language.”

Well, my mother was right: I do refer to her quite often, and have decided to reach out to her to express my thanks ( I hope she’s still alive). And Mrs. Cosgrove was right-boy did she teach me English. I still remember the grammar and vocabulary she drilled into our impressionable minds. And I still practice many of the habits that she introduced us to.

One the habits that Mrs Cosgrove insisted we adopt was to keep a journal. Every day we were required to write something in a steno-pad. Every week she would collect our journals, and offer commentary on what we wrote. It’s practice I still employ. Those of you who know me may have observed that I always have a black moleskin notebook nearby to capture my thoughts or to jot down my impressions. It’s a practice I commend to you highly.

Earlier this week, I was rereading some of the ideas that I had jotted down in one of my journals, and I came across a Bible verse I had written down that hit me on the head like a ton of bricks. Here is the verse:

May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he has promised.

Deuteronomy 1:11

I don’t know why I picked up that particular notebook. And I don’t remember when I jotted down that particular verse. But I do know it was a reminder that I desperately needed. We all have a tendency to forget how powerful God is, and of his interest, capacity, and determination to bless us.

In this passage, Moses is addressing a group of people who are preparing to enter a new phase of existence after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. He reminds them of how far they have come, how much they have endured, and how much more awaits them. And then, he reminds them of how gracious God is, and his hope that God would multiply them a thousand times more.

That is my prayer for you today. That God would make you:

a thousand times more patient

a thousand times more gracious

a thousand times more honest

a thousand times more passionate

a thousand times more compassionate

a thousand times more committed

a thousand times more sensitive

a thousand times wiser

a thousand times kinder AND,

a thousand times richer.

God has the interest, the capacity, and the determination to do it.

I dare you to believe it!