Green Day is what the kids call St. Patrick’s Day.?? I love St. Patrick’s Day and now that I have an Irish child, it’s all the more fun.?? When I was a child, my mom loved to dye our food green and always made corned beef.?? Carrying on her tradition, I dyed their milk green, made green egg sandwiches for lunch, dyed their lemon chicken and rice green at dinner and made green peanut butter balls.?? Of course they all woke up to pinches and had to hurry to find green in their closets.?? They always hate it when green day ends – Tanner said it will take too long to get here again.?? 🙂

Now that I am teaching, Green Day has all new significance as I have invested the time in teaching my kids about why we celebrate it.?? I bet this story would surprise some.

First of all, Patrick was not Irish.?? Surprised??? :)?? He was English born in 389.?? He was the grandson of a preacher and his father was a deacon.?? He, was not known for being particularly devout however.?? When he was a 16, he was captured on the English shores by Irish pirates.?? They took him to Ireland and he served as a slave for six years.?? Eventually, he made it back to England.?? He came home with a brand new lease on life and an entirely different outlook.????Patrick has been quoted as saying:

“I was sixteen years old and knew not the true God; but in that strange land the Lord opened my unbelieving eyes, and, altogether late, I called my sins to mind, and??was??converted with my whole heart to the Lord my God, who regarded my low estate, had pity on my youth and ignorance, and consoled me as a father consoles his children.”

God used slavery to introduce himself as “Daddy”.

??Patrick then went to France and received a biblical education.?? When He felt the Lord call him to the Irish…he went.?? He was possibly the most effective Irish missionary of the early ages.?? The Irish were known for their superstitious ways and those who had tried to minister to them before had trouble breaking through the cultural barriers.?? Because Patrick had lived amongst them for six years, he understood their cultural and could speak their “language”.??

Patrick was most well known for using the the three leaf shamrock as a symbol of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.???? Funny how much spiritual relevance there is in the holidays Americans celebrate – even when they do get secularly hijacked.?? :)?? He started at least 300 churches and baptized 120,000.??

Legends grew about him (including the story of him leading the snakes out of Ireland as well as several others).??

After 30 years of ministry, he left the church in Ireland in the capable hands of those he had trained and the Irish abbots diligently went about the task of copying the Scriptures by hand and ministering to the poor.

I love this story because it reminds me of one of my favorite bible stories – the story of Joseph.???? Joseph, like Patrick, was captured and forced into slavery for many years but, God used horrific circumstances to bring about HIS purpose.?? His purpose in both of these stories was nothing short of incredible.??

Knowing this story gives me all new appreciation for Green Day.?? It’s a celebration of more than just the spiritual heritage of Ireland.?? It’s a celebration of living loved by a God who longs to be our Papa.?? Even Patrick said while alone in slavery “he consoled me as a father consoles his children”.???? God could have prevented Patrick from being taken prisoner – no doubt.?? But He chose not to.?? Because He loved Patrick.?? He loves Ireland.

*Source:?? Mystery of History Volume II The Early Church and Middle Ages