Edgewater Grace

I was driving to work the other day and noticed an old man dressed exquisitely in a black suit, white shirt and red tie.  He had thrown on an old corduroy brown jacket, because it was cold out, and his clothing created it’s own statement of opposites.  He had thinning black hair with streaks of silver at his temple.  He was a handsome man, and he was dragging his trash can out to the curb.

He paused long enough to make sure the lid was sealed tightly, and then turned to walk back to his car.  And that is when he did it.  Something caught his eye, and he ran over with his dress black shoes and pounded down a mole hile.  The look on his face had already turned to disgust, and he searched the area around the hill, evidently looking to see if there were anymore.

And then he realized a car was coming, and you could see him sheepishly shrink into himself, and peek a glance back over his shoulder to see if I was watching.  And then he looked away.  It was a fascinating glimpse into this man’s life, and the side of a working man that most of us never get to see.  I wondered if it would bother him all day, and he would stop off at the hardware store that night for more mole killer stuff.  I wondered if he was married, and if his wife harassed him about the moles in the yard.  I wondered if they had a neighborhood organization that would complain if you had mole hills all over the yard.  Maybe he was just determined to get rid of the moles.

I will never know.  But, I am glad I got to witness the actions of this man.  To see him attack the hill like he did and to wonder how this would affect his day.  Was he a Christian?  Would he pray for strength, or seek his own strength?  Again, I will never know, but we all have blessings and troubles that confront us every day.  They build up character in us, and build us up and as we ponder the meaning behind it all, we grow closer to the King.

Why did I see all of this so clearly?  I’m still trying to find that out.

The next day, I followed a semi-trailer down one of the roads I travel.  The kids were waiting for the school bus, and a young 8 year old was tugging his arm up and down really quickly.  I thought,  “what in the world” and then heard the truck driver blowing his horn.  Another glimpse into another man’s life.  A man who obviously loved kids and liked to entertain them.  He took the time out of his busy day to answer the little boys dreams, and as we drove on by, the young guy was jumping up and down for joy.  You could see him stating, “Wow, a Semi Truck!! Cool!”  It brought a smile to my face yet again.

That’s real life.  And I want to remain as observant as I can so I don’t miss these tiny little blessings that occur as I make the 30 minute trip every day.

The Moley Yard and the School Boy.  Who would have figured?