Things of Beauty
A while back I posted about my latest observations of things that kind of took my breath away or struck me as beautiful. I mentioned that much of what I observe has changed in part due to my brother's death. It changes your paradigm and in many ways, clarifies what is important and what is not. Here are some of the things this weekend that struck me as poignant, beautiful and worthwhile:
On Saturday we volunteered again at the Guest House in Milwaukee. While there were not as many men as there was over Easter when we served the first time, it was still a moving experience. I always go thinking what I am doing is a blessing to these guys and I always come away feeling like the one who was blessed by it. The minute we got there a few of the guys came up to the van and asked if we needed help. We obliged and they got everything in the kitchen in one trip.
The guys are nothing short of overly courteous, thankful and grateful for our service. The thank yous and pleases are abundant. It is humbling and beautiful. I don't even ask for this, but they bless me with them. I pray for these guys before I go in and after I come out. They are people, brothers, and beautiful.
My daughter went to Prom on Saturday. While I realize this is not a monumental moment to anyone's lives except ours and hers, it was a moment of beauty unto itself. Here are two young adults who care enough about each other that they are willing to dress up, dance and act like real adults for an evening. It seems like only yesterday I was going through the same motions in my powder blue tuxedo. (It was on sale at the rental shop. I now know why). Watching her and her classmates walk proudly across the stage during the grand march was a watershed moment. I realized I was losing a little piece of her love and attention to another man. It made me happy and sad at the same time. Her going to prom is simple innocence, it is young love and it is beautiful.
I met a man while fishing today who caught a 46" Musky on the Fox River. It was a beautiful fish, but there was more to the story. As we got to talking I noticed he had a few tattoos, so I felt compelled to show him my new one. See (I know, it's weird). He asked about the significance of the date, so I told him about Rob and the whole story. Now this is a complete stranger understand, and he said he was sorry about Rob. He then told me he his daughter passed away after only 5 days. He showed me a tattoo of Angel wings on his forearm that he'd gotten after she died. This again proved to me that everyone has a story. Here I think I'm telling him part of my sad story and he has one that is sadder. It was a connection of the human condition and it made my day.
These events are just mundane events in my everyday life. I've found though, that if I look hard enough, I can see glimpses of the hand of God in all of them. Maybe it's just a stage I'm at in life. I prefer to think that it's this kind of thing that's been there all along, and I'm just seeing it with greater clarity than ever. And for that reason, I plan to keep looking for them.
Blogging off...
On Saturday we volunteered again at the Guest House in Milwaukee. While there were not as many men as there was over Easter when we served the first time, it was still a moving experience. I always go thinking what I am doing is a blessing to these guys and I always come away feeling like the one who was blessed by it. The minute we got there a few of the guys came up to the van and asked if we needed help. We obliged and they got everything in the kitchen in one trip.
The guys are nothing short of overly courteous, thankful and grateful for our service. The thank yous and pleases are abundant. It is humbling and beautiful. I don't even ask for this, but they bless me with them. I pray for these guys before I go in and after I come out. They are people, brothers, and beautiful.
My daughter went to Prom on Saturday. While I realize this is not a monumental moment to anyone's lives except ours and hers, it was a moment of beauty unto itself. Here are two young adults who care enough about each other that they are willing to dress up, dance and act like real adults for an evening. It seems like only yesterday I was going through the same motions in my powder blue tuxedo. (It was on sale at the rental shop. I now know why). Watching her and her classmates walk proudly across the stage during the grand march was a watershed moment. I realized I was losing a little piece of her love and attention to another man. It made me happy and sad at the same time. Her going to prom is simple innocence, it is young love and it is beautiful.
I met a man while fishing today who caught a 46" Musky on the Fox River. It was a beautiful fish, but there was more to the story. As we got to talking I noticed he had a few tattoos, so I felt compelled to show him my new one. See (I know, it's weird). He asked about the significance of the date, so I told him about Rob and the whole story. Now this is a complete stranger understand, and he said he was sorry about Rob. He then told me he his daughter passed away after only 5 days. He showed me a tattoo of Angel wings on his forearm that he'd gotten after she died. This again proved to me that everyone has a story. Here I think I'm telling him part of my sad story and he has one that is sadder. It was a connection of the human condition and it made my day.
These events are just mundane events in my everyday life. I've found though, that if I look hard enough, I can see glimpses of the hand of God in all of them. Maybe it's just a stage I'm at in life. I prefer to think that it's this kind of thing that's been there all along, and I'm just seeing it with greater clarity than ever. And for that reason, I plan to keep looking for them.
Blogging off...
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