Ordinarily Special

Photo Credit:  Jusben from morgueFile.com

Just the other morning, I noticed something ordinarily...special.  The sun was certainly up for the day, but the damp night had left much dew on God's great canvas.  As my children and I were driving through the countryside, we noticed something ordinary that really grabbed our attention.

The sun's arms hadn't yet gathered up the droplets of moisture that tenderly clung onto every intricately woven spider web along the road.  There were hundreds of them.  Some webs were swaying gently like a hammock between two tall blades of grass.  Some were hanging on by a single strand like a rope swing from a tree branch.  Some dangled dangerously between two rows of barbed wire fencing.  Each one of them so different…so detailed.

We tried to count them all, but that quickly proved to be impossible.  Squeals of delight came from the back seat as the kiddos saw another one and another one and another one.  Surely, the spider webs are there every morning, but this particular morning we were given the gift of "seeing" them.  (I don’t care much for the spiders, but I do find their artwork very intriguing!)

Many times, the most ordinary of things can make us smile.  There was a wonderful story from Mikey's Funnies last week that might get your grin muscles working.

Does anyone remember their grandma's apron?  The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few.  It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material.  But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

   

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion, was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.  From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.  When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.  And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms. 

Those big ole aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.  Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.  From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.  After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.  In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. 

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.  When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner. 

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.  People would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.  But, I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron...but love.

A simple, ordinary apron...until we "see" it in a different light.  I love it! 

My Uncle Erol also sent me an e-mail that reminded me of something ordinarily...special.

Some years ago at a social function in England, a great actor was asked to recite something for the pleasure of his fellow guests.  He consented.  He asked if there was anything special that his audience would like to hear.  An aged minister who was present arose and said, “Could you, sir, recite the twenty-third psalm?”  The great actor replied, “I can, and I will if you, my friend, after I have finished, will do the same.”

The minister reluctantly consented.  Impressively, the great actor recited the psalm.  His voice was perfect.  His intonation was flawless.  The audience was spellbound.  As he finished, the guests applauded.

Then, the aged minister arose and began to recite the psalm.  His voice was not remarkable.  His intonation was not faultless.  When he finished, there was no applause.  There was silence.  There was not a dry eye in the room.  Many heads were bowed in reverence.

The great actor arose again to his feet and, with great emotion, he said, “My friends, I have reached your eyes and ears, but the minister has reached your hearts.  The difference is this: I know the psalm, but he knows the Shepherd!”

What are some of the ordinarily special things in our life?  What are some of the mundane things we take for granted each and every day?

Is it fields full of spider webs heavy with night's droplets?  Is it appreciating the love behind a simple apron?  Is it a psalm that we've either read or heard numerous times?  Or maybe it’s something else?  The ability to hear our alarm clock.  The hum of an air conditioner that’s working properly.  Clean water to drink.  The fact that our children are healthy enough to pick on each other day in and day out.  Arms to hug our family.  Legs to dance.  The ability to smell roses (or a poopy diaper a mile away for you new moms out there!)

Countless ordinary things in our day can be appreciated in a special way if we remember Who sent us the gift.  Let's carve some time out of our summer to get to know the Shepherd.  We can see things in a different light when we have the Lord to guide our sight.

Have a wonderful week, Sunshines!  No Sips next week!