| Ephesians 5:15-16 – “So be very careful how you live. Live wisely, not like fools. I mean that you should use every opportunity you have for doing good, because these are evil times” |
Yesterday, my wife and I went to the Winspear Dallas to see the musical “Fiddler On The Roof”. I would sum it up in one word: family. Papa and Mama have 5 daughters. I recall two families from our church who have the same: the Vaught and Blacketer clans. They counted themselves blessed, and I did too. Anyway, as each generation does, they challenged and questioned the traditions that were handed down to them. Why is it this way? Papa needed this sameness to help him maintain balance in his life and faith.
Today, in celebration of Mother’s Day, our family was gathered here for dinner (what I was taught to call Sunday noon meal). I listened to the banter during the meal and afterwards. Jackson had to return to work, as he came on his lunch break. Jackson: Bye, Milo. Milo: Jackson, why you going? Milo hugged him. Milo just turned 3 last week, and his sister Sage is now 2 months. I have learned to take time to watch the grass grow with our children. And I have a random encounter with a stranger to thank for it.
One Saturday morning in May of 1993, I was walking in the front door of K Mart at Campbell and Central Expressway (it is no longer there). A man was coming out as I went in. I had our son, Grant, a toddler, in my arms. His two younger brothers were not yet born. Blue skies, sun shining. Stranger: “I remember that like it was yesterday. My son is graduating from high school today. Cherish each day. It will go by in a flash.” And then he was gone, into the parking lot.
Many days, I would be thinking about working late, and that admonition would come to mind. I would pack up and go home, and hug our sons, and play with them. It was as if God sent an angel to warn me. And he was so right. Now, I am much older, a papa now, with two grandchildren, one of them already 3. Life is whizzing by like a merry go round. Harry Chapin sang “Cat’s in the Cradle” to lyrics that his wife wrote. It is a warning about how quickly our children grow up.
Father in heaven, thank You for waking us up to the precious things of life, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
-Jeff Beall
