Last Tuesday evening my daughter, her husband, and their three children came to my home for dinner. You wouldn't think that would be a big deal - certainly not noteworthy enough to write a blog about! After all, my daughter lives only three blocks away from me! But it is a big deal to me. They are a young, busy family and we rarely get a chance to sit down and enjoy dinner together. And after we finished dinner on this gentle summer evening, we went out on my old-fashioned, covered front porch. My daughter and I sat in the porch swing. Her husband sat in the big wicker chair. The children played in the yard. We ate popsicles. We talked about our hopes and the things that matter to us. We didn't have to rush off anywhere. Nobody had an appointment or a music rehearsal or a sports practice. We made time to just be together all evening long, and it was, for me, a treasured and poignant time. I remember that when I prayed a blessing over the dinner I said, "Father, I thank you for the great joy of having family so near. I never, ever take for granted how blessed I am to be able to walk down the street to see them, and to put my arms around my grandchildren."
I really meant that prayer. But tonight I was even more touched by a post from the son of a good friend who was critically injured in a bicycle accident a few weeks ago. His spine was injured and he was paralyzed from the neck down. For the last few weeks he has been in ICU in Houston, and now in rehabilitation. The post from his son is too beautiful not to share - just as a reminder to us all how fleeting this life is - and how precious family is!
Ben (my friends' son) writes:
Yesterday evening, for the first time in what seems like a very long time, I had the pleasure of actually sitting down around a dinner table in his room with Dad, Mom, Gramma and Grampa. We blessed our meal, and proceeded to spend the next hour and a half telling stories, giving each other a hard time, and most importantly, laughing. I found it difficult not to think of the innumerable times in my life that I've taken something as simple as eating dinner with my family for granted -- and then to realize how truly precious each opportunity to look our loved ones in the eye is. In the midst of trials that at times seem too much to bear, it is the brief moments such as these that reinvigorate our spirits and give us the strength to press on. They provide the certainty that no matter how tenuous and frail the physicalities of this world may seem, God has seen fit to bestow upon us the ties that bind and hold infinitely more firm than sinew, bone, or steel -- and it is with that assurance of fortitude that we find the stamina to keep moving up the mountain. And not surprisingly, Dad is leading the charge.With much love, and eternal thanks,-Ben
