Rightly Dividing Life

Most of life is filled with the mundane. The word mundane is derived from the latin and in time past meant "of the world"—in contrast to things "of the church." So it's sort of a no brainer to say "I live a mundane existence." But, of course, we folk of faith like to divide things up: the sacred from the secular, right from wrong, good from evil, etc. And it is right that we learn how to divide things rightly. That's where, however, we folk of the faith are notorious for dividing things to the point where whatever life was there in the first place has long since departed and gone to greener and brighter pastures beside quieter waters. Could this be the reason why the word "mundane" in recent times (well, at least since the 19th cent.) means "lacking interest or excitement" Well, today, grace came to me through the mundane wailings of a little baby and the excellent combination of Crater Lake Blue cheese on unsalted crackers and a red Bordeaux wine from France. My granddaughter, Miriam, is a delight to my heart. Even her cries for mama or milk are music to my ears. While I was holding her, she began to cry something awful. It was loud enough to rouse Jenny from her studies (Jenny was staying over for the weekend as her hubby, Andrew, went to visit his dad in Houston) to check on me to see if I was OK with a screaming baby. My response? If she's OK with me holding the screaming baby, I'm OK with it. Jenny returned to her med books, and I returned to gazing at my beautiful wailing granddaughter. In about five minutes, however, she soon fell asleep in my arms and looked like an angel at rest—well, at least what I imagine an angel resting looks like. I can't help but think that this is the way the Lord sees us. We're not just teary eyed, hungry babies with empty bellies and poopy diapers. We are precious to him and he delights in everything that we are, and the only thing that really gets him upset with us is when we fail to see him as he truly is: a loving father who delights in his children. Fast forward to dinner time: Andrew came back from Houston earlier in the day but went straight to work. When he returned he came back with a small bottle of Chãteau St. Georges, a full bodied Claret produced from the classic Bordeaux grape. He also brought back a little less than 1/2 a pound of Crater Lake Blue cheese which sells for about $23.50 a pound. All the above was eaten with unsalted crackers and other simple but rich fare. Need I say more? The food nourished the body and the conversation nourished the soul. The secular and the sacred met on the plate, the palette, and the interplay between friends and family. Ok, enough already. Grace continues to overflow.

Under Grace,

Martin