Finding Blessings

I woke up grumpy this morning.  Not enough sleep, aching joints and a weariness I couldn't shake.  As I got ready for work, all of the small inconveniences seemed like major obstacles.  It was a grim start to the day.

But on my way to work, I decided that I was going to look for the good...the positive in my day and see if I could shake the bad mood I was in.

It wasn't long before I noticed the early morning blue sky breaking through a layer of gray overcast.  I felt my heart lighten as mile by mile, a glorious azure sky poured its early mornng rays across the horizon. Something settled within me.

I couldn't suppress a smile when I saw a goose standing along the side of the road.  As I got closer, I watched it move protectively closer to one fuzzy little gossling.  Mother and baby, the perfect pair.

As I pulled into the parking lot at work, it was 6:30 a.m., the time that a local radio station always plays the national anthem in honor of our men and women who serve in the military.  Today it was a beautiful a cappella version with rich, tight harmonies.  I swallowed the lump in my throat as the song finished and I offered a silent prayer of thanks.

There was nothing extraordinary about my work day except that I was able to accomplish a couple of things that left me with a very satisified feeling.

Late in the afternoon, I enjoyed sharing baby pictures with a coworker who is a first time mom to a sweet little seven-month old girl.  I "oohed" and "aahed" over her darling daughter and she returned the favor while looking at pictures of my precious granddaughter.  Quite simply, babies are the best!

Finally, it was time to head home.  Driving along a rather narrow, neighborhood street, I noticed a person up ahead carrying two large objects that appeared to be either heavy or at the very least, awkward.  When I finally pulled along side, I saw that it was an elderly man carrying a kitchen chair in one arm and pulling a hand truck with the other along the rutted shoulder of the road.  My heart clenched as I drove past. I kept looking in my rear view mirror at this man walking with his uneven gait.  All I could think of was my dad.

Quickly I pulled into the parking lot of an old Catholic church, turned my car around and headed back the way I had come.  When I got to the man, I rolled my window down and asked him if I could give him a ride somewhere.  He obviously was tired but didn't want to impose.  He told me that he only had four or five more blocks to go...down to the church where I had turned my car around...and he could probably make it.

I insisted on helping him and we loaded the chair in the back of my little Ford Focus and the hand truck in the back seat.  As he climbed into the passenger seat in his well-worn work clothes, he smiled and said "Wouldn't you know, the Good Samaritan who stops, is the one with the smallest car!"

We drove the few blocks to the church where he appeared to be the groundskeeper and he explained that some people had been helping him move, but the chair had gotten mixed up with his things and he needed to return it and the hand truck to the church.  He had been walking for over a mile and a half from the U Haul store, carrying those two items.

I wanted to cry.  I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and hug him. In his old work clothes, with his unflagging determination, I saw my own dad.   The bent posture and slightly uneven gait couldn't completely hide the tireless strength that had once been his. 

I helped him unload the items from my car and carry them to the basement of the church.  As we walked back up the driveway, I told him he should rest.  He smiled at me and raised his hand and said, "Or have a celebratory glass of wine!"

I pulled away from the church feeling the sweetest sense of joy wash over me!  In a day that had started out so grim, I'd found many blessings.  But this, was by far the best!