An interesting tidbit you might not have noticed about today's date is that in its shortened form of 5/15/15, it is a palindrome. With that out of the way, we can devote our attention to gratitude. This afternoon, Linda and I were sitting in the backyard watching Gemma and Eliza bouncing on the trampoline when I commented that I don't understand how it is that we have been so blessed, while so many others seem to struggle in so many ways. This morning I went to our local writer's group at the library and shared one of my songs. They all thought I should think about having it recorded and shared with a wider audience, something I've thought about, except that I don't know how to go about it. The affirmation was nice, though.
At noon, I had lunch with a friend to talk about some stuff he's facing in his life. To him, it looked like a no-win situation, but I reminded him that our God is in the business of turning around that kind of stuff. The children of Israel were trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh's armies, but it turns out they weren't in the no-win situation they thought. God was just setting them up for a miracle. The trick is to see things the way God sees them. Too often we end up forgetting that God isn't surprised by the messes we often find ourselves in. We get into trouble though, when we ask the wrong questions. Too often, we define our situations by asking whether choice A or choice B is God's will, when God's will is found not in one or the other, but in how we handle the choices placed before us. God's will is that we live with integrity, compassion, and faith, not that we take this job or that, or marry this person or that one. Making a wise decision can make a big difference in our comfort, but God's will is done even when we make a stupid choice, if we live out the consequences of it with integrity, compassion, and faith.
After meeting with my friend, I drove to the hospital to visit another friend who had a stroke during open heart surgery a few weeks ago. Recovery is slow, but I have the time, so we sat, and talked while he listened and smiled a lot. His speech has not yet returned to him. I played him a new song by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard entitled "My Come Whatever, Unfairweather Friend." My friend's troubles have been many, and his choices at times have exasperated me, but he is a true friend, and I am not about to abandon him when he needs a friend more than ever.
I finally got home in the afternoon, sat with Linda watching the kids bounce on the trampoline, and marveled at God's grace to me. Before the evening was out, the rest of the grandkids showed up, we ate S'mores down by the creek, and I caught the gentle fragrance of the apple blossoms on the tree by our back door. By 10:30, Alex and her boyfriend Joseph had made it home from decorating for the prom and were eating spaghetti, while Abi chowed down on some ice cream and the younger ones were sprawled out on the bed and floor of the spare room.
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