Sunday Reflections

'Twas a nice relaxed Sunday morning as precious eight-going-on-nine-year-old daughter was fairly red from a long and fun day at the water park yesterday and precious fifteen-year-old daughter was perfectly content to sleep in, so instead of returning the girls to their mother in the morning as usual older daughter slept and younger daughter cuddled up with Southern Man for a morning of in-bed snacks and Noxema rubdowns and movies - all three Indiana Jones flicks. The earlier review of Indiana Jones IV was perhaps too harsh on Temple of Doom; it's better than I remembered it to be. We had a grand morning that went by all too quickly before their mother arrived to take them away. Then Southern Man put in a good afternoon and evening's work out at The Land before receiving a last-minute request to pick up his Dad at the train station downtown and take him home.

The quiet and solitude at The Land gives Southern Man plenty of time to reflect on his troubles and his blessings. The former, such as they are, are dealing with his troubled teen son, continued turmoil at work, and two vehicle payments after years of none at all. His blessings, on the other hand, are too many to count:

• Sure, dealing with the son is often hard, but Southern Man loves him so and he's such a cool young man in so many ways;



• Sure, there are lots of problems at work, but Southern Man is still gainfully employed and is fairly employable if things don't work out there;



• Sure, finances will be tighter with two vehicle payments and increased insurance, but there are two new vehicles in the driveway to play with and one of them gets 30 MPG.

Southern Man sees a silver lining in every cloud. And he is blessed in so many other ways. He has three wonderful children and even though the girls live with their mom they're close at hand and Southern Man sees them far more often than the usual every other weekend. He's getting along fine with his ex. Both of his parents are living and in great health. His two siblings, who also live nearby, are doing well. He's slowly but surely making new friends and for the first time in a long time is having something of a social life. He's still able to sock away the legal maximum into his retirement account (and that's a powerful safety net there should he ever need it). With three teaching jobs this summer his income should exceed expenses by a wide margin and the somewhat depleted savings accounts should be restored by fall (and even three jobs isn't as bad as it sounds; it's Monday through Thursday, so three-day weekends all summer!) He's making slow but steady progress out at The Land. His post-divorce emotional health continues to improve. His spiritual life is as strong and as active as ever. Life is really, really good. Gracious Lord, thank you for the many ways in which You've blessed me and those around me. So often we dwell on our troubles and forget to count the riches with which You've endowed us. I pray, Oh Lord, that I will always be thankful for all that I have and be ever willing to share it with others as best as I can. Amen.