Heart Hope by Olga

It was a simple cardboard box on the top shelf of the refrigerator. The familiar white box with the red dragon on the side was often in our refrigerator signaling leftovers from Henry's the local Chinese food restaurant that we frequent. I thought that I had finished off the takeout food before leaving on my trip several days before knowing that it would be “iffy” to eat them when I returned. But since I was hungry, I assumed they probably wouldn't kill me. Reaching toward the top shelf, something was different; the box was larger than normal and wasn't filled completely. Unlocking the top and peering in I realized that this was not from our recent visit to the local spot. Apparently my husband had visited Henry and crew in my absence. The amazing thing is that my husband doesn't eat leftovers. He had brought the Mongolian Beef home especially for me. The real surprise was that he had packaged them exactly like I would have done it--rice on the bottom, meat, veggie...

Several years ago my daughter Margaret and I were meandering down Canal Street in New Orleans, just enjoying spending time together. We were interrupted by a snaggle-toothed young man on a bicycle who seemed to be stalking us--He would ride past us, go up about a block then circle back around and repeat the action. Each time he rode by, he asked us the same question, “Who is you?” After multiple encounters we ducked into a nearby store, laughing so hard we were almost in tears. We never knew if he really thought we were someone important or if this was just his normal daily activity to harass people on the street. But to answer his question, we are nobodies. Wait a minute—rewind; we are not nobodies, we are mothers, children, sisters, friends, teachers, et cetera, but most importantly we are children of God. Do you know what that means? We are daughters of a King, the King of the universe. While visiting Houston recently, I noticed that my granddaughter, Molly, would get dressed for th...