Choose Your Blessing

July 26, 2018

Six hours in a car is not my first choice as to how to spend a day, but when it’s with people I love and I don’t have to do the driving, it’s not too bad. And if I listen, I even learn a thing or two. Neither of us are consummate conversationalists, so I wondered whether we would spend the entire trip in silence, but that didn’t happen. For the first fifty miles or so, the conversation revolved around a continual barrage of questions from ten year old Nathan in the back seat, to which his father responded with surprising patience. Finally, we settled in for the ride, talking about cars, guns (especially focusing on the best way for me to dispatch the chipmunks and squirrels that are wreaking havoc with our yard and gardens), the musical we had just seen, our church’s sacrificial giving campaign for the planned building project, and finally, life itself.

At one point, I commented on how grateful Linda and I are that our kids live so close that we get to be an almost daily part of our grandkids’ lives. It’s challenging sometimes, with them in three different school districts, and involved in different sports and activities. Our daughter Jessie is constantly telling us, “You don’t have to come to every game the kids have.” Today, Matt was worried that perhaps as our kids, they expected too much of us, or took too much advantage of us—Friday nights twice a month, Sunday dinners, the kids’ weekly activities. Of course, we don’t have to do all this. But we do it, nonetheless...most of the time. There are times we can’t make all their activities, and times we don’t get to do things that we might otherwise do, but no one forces us to do anything; we make the choices. We have plenty of friends who don’t get the privilege of building directly into their grandkids’ lives. We are abundantly blessed in that area. 

The Bible tells us that God has blessed us in heavenly places in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3). God has already done his part, but there are plenty of people who never experience those blessings because they don’t choose them. I told Matt today that my natural inclination is to hole up by myself and withdraw into my own little world. It’s taken a lifetime, but Linda has taught me the folly of that way of living. I’m not as good at it as she is, but I’m getting better. Last night, I was invited to play cards with her, Abi, and Nicole. I had some work I wanted to get done, so I declined, but after about half an hour, I went down to the pool where they were playing and the younger kids were swimming. The game was of course, already underway, so I didn’t participate, except in the conversation (as much as my traitor ears would allow inside the echo chamber of the pool room). The blessing was waiting for me to claim it.

Today, I was able to claim another one, talking with Matt and Nathan on the way home. And in a few minutes, I’ll turn in my ticket for another, as I go to Jessie’s kids’ soccer game. It’s a matter of choices, whether it’s receiving the blessing of being in our grandkids’ lives, or receiving the gifts Christ has for us. Wise choices sometimes go against the grain, but they are wise nonetheless. I am thankful tonight to have a choice.