Adopted for Life: Jewels of Grace

Sometimes in the race of life we're so busy looking ahead that we fail to look down and around to see the myriad of jewels of grace dropped in and among us. When we do take our eyes off of what we think the future might hold and behold the sparkling glare and beauty of what we're currently surrounded by, then it's difficult to lift our heads again in order to move forward. But, ironically, it's those moments of needful basking that pave the road to the future.

This weekend was a fast-paced pause that not only blinded my vision, but also flared up memories of days gone past that now seem like but the twinkling of an eye. In the high-speed busyness of work, loving on the kids, shepherding at church, and just being a husband, I disciplined myself (with Victoria's help) to spend seven to eight hours in the car to relish but twenty-four hours with Austin in San Luis Obispo. En route I could hardly imagine how I could find the time, but once there I was soothed by the radiance of yet another jewel of grace dropped right into the palm of my hand. Among the many riches of our time together, the most valuable was our kayak excursion in Avila Bay, just a few miles south of San Luis Obispo. We talked about some of the deeper things of life, only to be gleefully interrupted by the formation flight of Pelicans hovering but inches off the ocean's surface taking advantage of their forced-air lift without ever flapping a wing. We then talked more about the deeper things of life, interrupted yet again by the otters and seals that bobbed their heads amongst the seaweed to ensure they knew just where we were. And then we'd talk again about the deeper things of life, only to be interrupted by the sights and sounds of dolphins, some within ten feet of the bow of the kayak, happily swimming in and around us as if they were taunting us to try to catch them. It became keenly apparent that the deeper things in life not only included the content of what we were talking about, but also context of what we were not talking about.

The combination of God's remarkable grace found in the natural order of His creation and the bond that a father and child have in the midst of it is one of the greatest treasures this life has to offer. And to think that I could miss out on this by running ahead in anticipation of what "just might be" is possibly one of the greatest travesties of life.