Extravagant Gifts

 October 26, 2023

It’s not easy coming up daily with thoughts worth sharing, so occasionally I miss a day, and at other times I revert back to how I started all this in 2013 with three daily gifts. The calendar for today reads: “Three gifts extravagant.” That’s easy.

Gift #1 is God’s love, mercy, and grace. I often resonate with St. Paul who bewailed his penchant for doing what he knew to be wrong and failing to do what he knew to be right. You find that in Romans 7. Paul and I are kindred spirits on that one! Were it not for God’s merciful love that covers a multitude of sins, I would be utterly lost.

Gift #2 is Linda’s love for me. Lord knows, I don’t deserve it, but am so grateful for it. She has stuck by my side for over 53 years, through good times and bad, through laughter and tears. There’s no one in this world I would rather have by my side. Her love is extravagant.

Gift #3 is the bountiful grape harvest of this year. I went picking today, and talking with the owner of the vineyard, learned that this has been a bounty year for her grapes. They have so much that they’re finding it hard to keep up with the harvest. The harvest is extravagant, and I am blessed to be able to share in it. The grape juice smells so sweet as it’s processing, and our shelves will be full this year.