Like every blessed Grandmother, a grandchild is cherished treasure. My grandson, seven-year-old Zachariah, proudly boasts two baby brothers. Just about the only drawback is both babies are not fans of sitting idle while strapped into their car seats. Thus, my daughter when picking up Zachariah, times it so she is one of the last cars fetching a student. This avoids stereo opera from announcing her arrival. Like any first grader, Zachariah is not keen on always being last. He naturally was delighted to hear his GaGa drew Tuesday/Thursday school pick-up duty this semester.
I needed instructions, and Zachariah announced he’d educate me! His version of my assignment was to always make sure I was lined up between the “A” and “H” letter signs — ensuring he’d finally be called for release in the first batch of scholars climbing into cars. Confident even this ‘ol GaGa could handle her job, I assured him I could handle the task at hand. However, what I came to learn was to wait between “A” and “H”, a car has to arrive a good hour before school calls it a day.
My immediate solution was to use the wait for catching up on paperwork, messages and to-do lists. Then came last week and the arrival of God’s gorgeous gift of Spring. Arriving at school in time to stop at letter “C”, I reached for the day’s car work, only to scold myself for being satisfied to sit behind tinted windows when God’s landscape and singing creatures were sharing a dazzling display of stunning creation. The invitation to partake of peace, renewed life and inspiration was knocking on my window. You better believe, I swung open the car door and hopped out of stale air to breathe in God’s gifts and breathe out praises to His glory.
I walked the field in the center of the car loop, praying for Zachariah and his fellow students’ wisdom and protection. My stroll completed, I plopped down on one of the benches lining the sidewalk along the car line and began talking to God. I mean a day as beautiful as I was beholding merited a litany of praise and thanksgiving offered to our Creator. The birds chirped along, as if to add their gratitude and joy.
Suddenly, my exuberance changed to somber realization. I sat totally alone. Not one other driver sitting, by now, in about 100 cars left their steel cage to take hold of the Hand of God’s peace, beauty and freedom from stress, schedules and life’s winter woes. How very sad this is.
Why are we captive to cages, when freedom to soar awaits us? Why do we choose to gaze through dark lens and filter out our SONshine? Why do we skim our smartphones over conversing with God? As Zachariah and I drove home, we pondered these questions. Maybe, we were unable to sum up the answers, but wisdom grew from wondering.
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12: 7-10 (ESV)
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 