Colin's Story

July 21, 1956

Dear Diary,

The sky was pale this morning and the grass had that quiet shimmer from dew. Mini found her squeaky ball right after breakfast and dropped it at my feet like it was a gift wrapped in slobber. I took it as one.

Since it’s Sister Mary Claire’s day off, she didn’t wear her veil—her hair was soft and brown and tucked behind her ears like she used to do when she was just Claire and not a Sister yet. She sat on the step beside me with her worn little Gospel book and read from Matthew 12.

Some Pharisees had asked Jesus for a sign, and He told them no sign would be given except the sign of Jonah. Sister explained that the sign of Jonah means Jesus going into the tomb—like Jonah went into the whale—and rising again after three days. She said Jesus was warning them that they were missing the biggest sign of all: Himself.

Then she told me about the Queen of the South. She was a real queen—from far away in Africa, Sister said, probably Ethiopia. She had heard about King Solomon’s wisdom and made a long, dangerous journey just to hear him speak. And Jesus said, if she made such a journey just to hear Solomon, how much more should people listen to Him, because He’s even greater than Solomon.

Sister looked at me kindly and said, “Kathy, sometimes people wait for something dramatic to shake them up—but real love listens closely and recognizes wisdom when it’s quiet and standing right in front of you.”

Later this afternoon, we heard the news about a young man named Colin who fell into one of the hot springs in Yellowstone. He was only twenty-three. My heart squeezed so tight when I heard it. I imagined how peaceful that park must have seemed—like something God painted Himself—and how suddenly danger appeared.

Right away, I took myself there in my imagination. I knelt near the steaming water in my mind and prayed for Colin. And then I thought—maybe this is what Jesus meant. Sometimes we wait for signs, for proof or safety, or even long lives, but the world is fragile. Colin didn’t get a warning. But the Gospel is our warning and our comfort. Jesus is already the sign, and He gives Himself to us before anything happens.

And maybe—just maybe—Colin had once heard the Gospel and remembered it in that moment, even just in his heart. Maybe the Queen of the South and the people of Nineveh will rise up and say, “Colin heard, and he believed.”

I don’t know for sure, but I believe God’s mercy finds us even in sudden places.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for being the sign—stronger than a whale, brighter than a prophet, wiser than any king. Help me to follow You like the Queen of the South, even if the journey is long. Please be with Colin’s soul and hold him close. And help me to live each day ready—not scared—but ready with love in my heart. Amen.

Love, Kathy