KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Umbrella
QUEEN MARY MADE a regular visit to Scotland every summer...
On one occasion she was strolling with a group of children. Suddenly the sky turned gray and thick, dark clouds appeared. The queen stopped at a nearby house and asked if she might borrow an umbrella. She told the lady of the house, "I'll send it back to you tomorrow." The lady was understandably reluctant about lending a good umbrella to a total stranger, but she remembered that she had a old one up in the attic. One rib was broken and there were several ragged holes in it, but she nevertheless, turned it over to this lady at her front door with a weak apology.
The next day there was another knock at the door. This time, when she opened it, a man in gold braid stood with a big envelope in hand. "The queen sent me," he said, "and asked me to thank you for the umbrella." For a moment the woman stood motionless -- speechless, but then burst into tears. Finally, she cried, "Oh! What an opportunity I missed that I did not give her my best!" (Mike Benson)
THOUGHT: What umbrella are you giving to the KING? Have you offered Him your best umbrella?
KneEmail: "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me'" (Matt. 25:40).