Notes from Norman

TWO SERENDIPITIES

Since I started working at a funeral home, I’ve heard quite a few religious homilies from varying perspectives. I find it necessary to guard against the temptation to become cynical and hypercritical. I can’t afford to do that because sometimes I might miss an insight that has the potential to make a profound impression on my mind. They call that “serendipity.”

I had two of them yesterday, although I suspect I probably missed a dozen others.

A minister was in the process of delivering an unusually long funeral sermon when I heard him relate the comments of the deceased man’s father. A 35 year old man was killed in an automobile accident, and the preacher was sharing family anecdotes. Apparently the man’s father had labored hard to achieve a comfortable position in life. On the day of the accident, his son stopped by the house. During the course of the conversation he told his son, “I have everything I’ve ever wanted in this life.” The son left the house and in less than an hour he was dead. The preacher said, “For a few minutes he had everything he wanted in this life.”

I was reminded of life’s fragility and the futility of laying up treasures on the earth. If we get what we want in this life, we can’t keep it. I was also made grateful for my own family. The accident victim was just a year older than my youngest son. What a blessing God has given us to have four healthy children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. That’s the first serendipity.

The second took place on my way home. I was driving the flower truck down I-220 just north of Shreveport. It’s not the closest way. I was only taking that route because I was told to do so. At one point a bridge spans Cross Lake. As I started across the lake, I realize that I could see it much better from my vantage point in the truck than I usually do in my car. A remarkably beautiful cloud formation settled over the western sky. The sun peeked between the clouds here and there just prior to sunset. As I looked across the water, it seemed like small ripples went on and on until they almost met the sun. No artist could have produced such an inspiring picture. From my seat in the truck I was able to enjoy the whole scene. I saw it for the length of time it took me to pass over the bridge – probably less than a minute.

This morning I realize how much I was blessed by the calm beauty of that picture. If I were to drive over Cross Lake today, it wouldn’t look the same. It never can look the same. However the picture is still in my mind. If I were to fall ill and find myself confined to a hospital bed, I will still be able to see the sunset on Cross Lake in my mind. God gives us beauty and the minds to appreciate it. That’s my second serendipity.

What remarkable gifts the Father has to give us, if we’ll just look for them.

posted by Norman @ 7:37 AM