Thank God for those wondrous special moments. The ones you eventually define your life by. They come unbidden, and all too often they slip by without our even knowing that something of import just happened. Occasionally a moment catches us when we are aware....
I am soon to travel to Turkey for an extended stay lasting a little over two weeks. I have been saving certain thoughts for future potential blogs (it seems writing about these issues might help the time go by during the days of excruciating boredom...... a man can play only so many games of free cell). However, todays observations are significant and can not wait. Today held one of those aforementioned moments, one I will lay down before my maker in reverence as my having known a moment that was holy. A moment that absolute and pure love was evident. As is almost always the case when in the presence of love, it left me both humbled and empowered. Let me share the experience.......
My granddaughters class was to travel to the air museum today. She had announced this to any and all in recent weeks. I was not sure I would be available, so I did not volunteer to be one of the adult escorts for the field trip. As her parents were both working, Katelynn would be going alone. As I later discovered I would in fact be free, I quite off handedly promised Katelynn I would be there for the time in the museum, if not the ride on the bus. I promised. As I have always wanted her to think of a promise from Pop as having come from a burning bush, I should have been more aware.
As I said I am leaving for Turkey soon, and in fact there is less than four days left before I leave home for what should be a trip of minimally 4 weeks duration. As I would think you could guess the list of things that must be addressed before leaving seems to be getting longer by the day. Add to that the self induced stress of trying to get a head start on any and all of the spring gardening chores that will be late if I wait till mid April to address them..... in short, I was living moment to moment, and was distracted (which is a kind way of saying I had my head so far up my own rectum as to have been oblivious to most anything not right in front of my nose...... a classic case of cranial/rectal inversion).
So, late last night I asked my wife what she had planned for today. She ran down her list, and somewhere in her listing of events, she mentioned Katelynn's trip. I had forgotten, and would have absentmindedly missed it. Realizing a realignment of priorities was in order, I got up early to be at the museum when it opened.
Katelynn and her classmates were not the first school group to arrive. Nor were they the second. I waited in the lobby for most of two hours. I was starting to doubt my information when I saw the buses from her school district arriving. When she walked through the door holding the student teachers hand she saw me....... there it was, written across her face. "Pop was here, he did not let me down." There was love in that face, and blind faith that had just been justified. A lifetime (at least the duration of hers) of being adamant about keeping promises was rewarded in an instant. Oh, I am thankful for the hug and love that she gives me, but I am even more thankful that I did not destroy a young hearts ability to have faith.
I know I came close to doing the unpardonable, and the awareness at just how easy it is to deeply hurt an innocent is not lost on this old mans consciousness. I dodged a bullet and was rewarded. I suspect my own version of hell could well be defined in what I perceive would have been on her face had I not been there. She told me she had been looking for me outside, and was almost in tears because she thought I was not going to be there. I know it meant something important to her............ and that means the world to me.
It makes me wonder; Katelynn's Aunt Heather has a most profound faith. Did I ever in ignorance or inattention manage to damage Heather's ability to have faith in someone she loves? Of course I can not put my finger on any such event, but if I was ignorant of it then, would I not be still enveloped in the comfort of my own ignorance? It is obvious that whatever failings I manifested, she certainly managed to overcome them. Still, it all makes me a little intimidated...... there are younger grandbabies that I hope to encourage to trust in love.
Thankfully I have no illusions that I am the only one offering lessons of love.......
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