A wise son makes a glad father… —Proverbs 10:1 (NKJV)
The Tournament of Roses Parade! Here I was, wedged into the Pasadena bleachers with my husband, taking in a New Year’s celebration I had seen previously only on TV. Fantastic floats covered with millions of flowers rolled along Colorado Boulevard, rose fragrance wafting in their wake. High-stepping palominos bore their riders on flashing silver saddles. One marching band had scarcely passed our stand before another band’s brassy march drifted through the sun-drenched morning.
This New Year’s celebration capped our first Christmas holiday with Thad’s California family. Now we would drive back to our home in Wyoming. Frankly, I was ready for quiet time after a week in the exuberant chaos of a household overstuffed with Thad’s six madcap siblings, spouses, and erratic comings and goings. So when Thad’s dad asked us to stay another day or two, I resisted, to no avail. We had no pressing obligations back home, so my husband insisted we stay to humor his father.
Dad sensed my frustration and cajoled, “In a year or two, you’ll never remember staying here an extra day.”
Ah, but I do remember, even though that was thirty-eight years ago. Mercifully, during those intervening years, I evolved from a self-absorbed bride to the tuned-in mother of four adult children. Only now do I understand the pang of parting with them after even the briefest visit. Though both my husband and his father have passed on, they awakened me to the precious gift of presence. My presence. Once a year, a beautiful parade reminds me.
Loving God, in this coming year, may I better discern where You need me to be—and to be there gladly.
Digging Deeper: Exodus 20:12; Proverbs 22:6
Excerpted from Daily Guideposts 2018.
