If You Had Told Me

If you had come to me at age 20 and shown me this possible life…

You have four sons, two from a foreign country.
You have been married 30 years to a cute librarian.
You are awaiting the birth of your first grandchild, who will live nearby.
There is a method whereby personal computers are networked, providing instant access to most information. On this network you posted to the public on children’s literature, instantly sparking an insightful post on that topic from one of your sons 2000 miles away.
Another son is in college, and the fourth about to graduate highschool. Everyone likes each other.
You are all planning a backpacking trip to the place you brought your sons when they were children.
You are going to Europe for the (1, 2, 3…) 8th time.

If you had told me that, I would have traded everything I owned for it. For half of it. An arm. A leg. My sight or hearing. Without hesitation. Heck, I might have given a hand or a foot for any one of them alone. I know as an intellectual premise that all good things come from God, but it doesn’t always animate my existence as it should. Sometimes, some few times, I can look and see how I would not have these things were it not for Jesus. I would have screwed too much up.

We so seldom appreciate what we have. Alleluia.