Small Blessings

The family is on vacation without me, and this is the first time in years that I have been so long without them. It is a time to focus on myself, my goals, and, most importantly, to strengthen and refocus on my relationship with God.

We get so caught up in day to day goings on that it is easy to forget why we are here or the important things in life. The job is the means to taking care of that with which we are charged, yet when the hours at work increase and the tasks require more of your attention, it can so easily become the focus. I think I have been blessed so far that I have not completely lost sight of the things that are most important to me. I have been able to give up things that mean something to me, such as triathlon, for the sake of doing things for the boys and the family, like Cub Scouts.

So, while the family is away, and I have a week off of work as well, this is a time to draw nearer to God. There are temptations to fight, of course. My first night alone, I went to the grocery store and bought entirely too much of the wrong kinds of foods. But I was able to repent, and have done a fair, if not perfect job, of eating properly and not going off the deep end. And I haven't had a drop of alcohol except for a beer and glass of wine served to me on the fourth.

But tonight, something really special happened, and it just reminds me of how much God loves us, individually and specially. I went to church, as normal, and tonight I was to serve as a greeter. There was an email to meet early because brochures needed to be stuffed with an additional flyer, but when I got there early, that had already been done. So, we greeters sat and talked for a few minutes, and then were introduced to a new greeter. It turns out that this man is a descendant of a famous historical person, and he didn't mention a word of it while we were talking - I only found out as we were working together opening doors for people.

We didn't talk at all about his famous ancestor, but instead just discussed life and our various circumstances and appearance. It's just that only God would know that it would thrill me so much to meet this guy, to find out that there were descendants of this person. How cool is that?

I went to church, and the message was good, don't get me wrong. But it felt like I got there and God took me into his kitchen and gave me a special ice-cream cone! Truly, He loves us each individually and gives us great things.

Thank you Lord - I love you so much.