One of the things I've learned from disciplining myself towards gratitude is to see God's hand in the simplest of everyday experiences. This morning I had breakfast with a friend, during which we talked of our concerns as fathers of grown children. We are both learning to walk that fine line between being the protector that we were when our children were young and stepping back as they make their own way in life. Any father of teenagers knows that feeling of wanting to stand between our children and all evil, yet knowing that there comes a time when we must finally yield them to Christ. It's rarely an easy thing to do. We talked, I heard his heart, then did the only thing we could do: we prayed together.
A bit later I stopped by Germaine & Poppalardo's to cash in a gift certificate for a bassoon reed. The proprietor is a soft-spoken man named Bill, as honest and genuine a man as you'd ever want to meet. I chose one, whereupon he gave me two additional reeds. "I told my supplier to not bring me any more of this brand. Their quality is spotty. You'll get a good one, then one that just won't play. See if you can make them work." As he was about to make change for the balance of the gift certificate, I told him I figured we were even.
He commented on the progress my grandson is making with his guitar lessons and we talked about music theory and me of all people giving bass lessons to the kids at church. I'm not too many steps ahead of them even at the start, but Bill is an encourager and told me the biggest thing the kids need is a basic foundation and lots of encouragement. No wonder he is such a good teacher himself. I stepped out of his shop into the sunshine, grateful for these two men who in ordinary conversations revealed the glory of Christ who lives in them. Nothing unusual or spectacular, but it's in conversations such as these that if we recognize it, we see the hand and heart of God.
At the end of the day, we had a small celebration for granddaughter Mattie's tenth birthday. Her joy and enthusiasm for life is infectious and rounded out the day, blessing upon blessing. Happy birthday, Mattie!
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