June 1, 2022 It seemed slightly absurd. I recently dragged my husband and son along for a 50-plus mile drive to Champlain to pick up a stranger’s trash – one of those heavy, old, wooden console televisions – for a project I’m planning. When we packed into my Jeep for the drive, I expected a rather boring day of driving and running errands. God had other ideas. The woman giving me the television was having a yard sale. We ended up chatting with her and buying a few other items. Then, we moved on to one of my husband and son’s favorite stores, where we had an awesome time visiting with the owner and shopping for additions to Adam and Jake’s collections. After that, we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch and headed toward home. On the way home, we noticed an antique store we’ve always wanted to visit was open, so we stopped to check it out. After chatting with the owner, he pulled out a collection of autographed sports memorabilia he had for sale, and my son found a couple autographed Pittsburgh Steelers items that he purchased at a great price. Making our way even closer to home, we decided to stop at one of our favorite antique stores. There, I found another television that was even cooler than the first one. Now, I have two projects. All day, my men and I were joking with each other about all the weird hobbies we enjoy, about a few finds we purchased for restoration and resale, and about life in general. We had an awesome day! We met kind and interesting people who share our hobbies. We found projects that will entertain and occupy us in the coming weeks. We enjoyed our time together. God turned “running errands” into the best family day we’ve had in months. Our God is like that, isn’t He? He constantly gives us surprises and gifts, and He turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. I’ve been thinking about that idea – God’s ability to transform the mundane into the amazing – a lot lately. It seems especially relevant as I consider last week’s ordination. In that Mass, God turned an ordinary man into something extraordinary – someone who will stand in the person of Christ and bring His sacraments and love to His people. I never cease to be amazed and inspired by God’s goodness and gifts, His ability to make something out of nothing, good out of bad, extraordinary out of ordinary. There’s nothing absurd about that. |
|||||
|
|||||||||
