Beans Taste Fine

 Good morning!

As most of you are reading this, it’s Labor Day Weekend.  For me growing up, it meant that come Monday, summer was over, and I’d be off to a new school year.  I never understood what the “labor” bit was about, but nowadays I hear that it was established to recognize and honor America’s workers at the height of the Industrial Revolution. 

For most of us, though, it just meant it was time to go back to school, and THAT probably meant a sigh of relief for the nation’s parents.

Well, Tony & I have been home a whole week, and while I thought I’d be feeling ‘down’ because the trip of a lifetime was over, actually it’s been unexpectedly refreshing. I’m reminded of a time a couple of years ago when we took our kids and grandkids to a little resort just out of town, deeper back in the mountains from our house.  We’d been snookered into a ‘free’ stay there a year or so earlier after listening to a time share spiel, but it ended up being so nice (no, we didn’t buy a timeshare thankfully) that we’ve been back a few times. Anyway, this particular day we were in the ‘games’ room.  I’d given each boy a couple of dollar coins and they were enjoying racing the race cars and swatting the gophers.

In the room with us was a man and his two kids. They seemed to be having even more fun than we were and so I couldn’t help but watch.  They were all pretty ragged, even more than the usual “vacation” look. In any other context, I would have assumed they were homeless, but eventually decided they were just a bit “casual” and not in the least self-conscious about their circumstances or appearances.  They were enjoying the games so much, it took me awhile to realise that they were having a riotous time on the driving simulator, whacking gophers that never seemed to pop up and putting on a splendid display of air hockey without a puck … all without spending a cent. 

They were enjoying each other’s company, loving on one another and making the absolute most of everything the games room had to offer, except the invitation to “insert coin here”. I made a note to think about this later.After four months of carefully-budgeted days and nights, where everything including the glass of water came with a price tag, it’s been such a joy this past week to take in the faces of our loved ones with all-inclusive hugs and kisses. The smell of the rain, the view from our back porch and clear nights under the Southern stars have been priceless. 

Then today (being Fathers Day in Australia), we got lumps in our throats while admiring one grandson’s wood shop project: a handy platform for hanging chargers and displaying iPhones. At least Tony thinks that’s what it is. But what it is, is insignificant, because  the look of pride and craftsmanship on his face as he lovingly presented it, was, as they say, “Magic”. Some things you just can’t buy. I remember some words from an old Brothers Four folk song that went like this: “After you’ve been having steak for a long time, beans, beans taste fine.”

Now, I’m not saying that our four months on the road was a never-ending steak dinner, but I WILL say that today the ‘beans’ certainly have a familiar comfort to them.  Jesus had a LOT to say about contentment.  He ‘mentioned’ one time that he didn’t even have a pillow for His head, but the life He’d chosen was the one He was called to and definitely worth living. Let’s think about it this week.

 Marsha

“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)

…………and yet He didn’t complain, even to the death on the cross for each and all of us.