Since we now record our messages on Saturday afternoons, I find myself with more free time on Sundays. So, Robin and I are using this time afforded us by the lockdown to undertake the daunting task of cleaning out our garage—sorting through boxes of keepsakes and Christmas decorations.
Today we came across a small box of letters my dad had written to my mom in the early days of their marriage. Dad was in the Army stationed in Tokyo during the Korean Conflict. This is the first time I had seen his missives. I never would have guessed that Dad was such an innocent romantic. He called my mom Darling and Honey. He was effusive in his praise of the beauty of her hair and especially her eyes. He spoke often of his love for her and their future together, “I can’t wait to get home so I can finish school, be a geologist, and raise orchids (as a hobby) want to help?” “Bye now. I’ll see you in my dreams,”—killer close, Dad! Well played!
So much love to share, so much to look forward to, so much life to live. Dad could hardly wait for the time to pass so he could get home to be with his new bride. Neither of them could have known that less than a month after Dad graduated from college he would be in a near fatal oil field explosion which would maim his body and demolish many of their dreams.
When I headed out to clean the garage yesterday, the last thing I was expecting was a sacred moment peering back in time and seeing the blossoming love of my parents—a love which flowed down from them into my life and deeply enriched me. Yesterday was a very good day.
Why am I telling you these things? Well, I just don’t want you to miss a very important truth. No one knows what tomorrow brings, and it’s easy to miss what today could have brought.
I know this is an incredibly difficult, frustrating, and onerous time. I get it—an invisible enemy is lurking, homes have become schools, parents have become teachers, paychecks are tenuous, many of us are on our last nerve, and some of us need to be talked off the ledge.
But please, resist the temptation to just wish this time away. God has something for you. He has something he wants to show you. Seek him with your whole heart. Seek him with an open mind. Seek him with a willing spirit. There is no telling what you will find . . . in this hard time . . .
In it together,
Jim
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