March 14, 2022

Unexpected Blessings

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

My father, who passed away 5 years ago, was always a homebody. He never socialized much and was perfectly content to watch a movie on TV alone or order Saturday night dinner from a drive-through window. In the many years he cared for my mother (who had dementia), he spent most of his time with her at home and ventured out primarily to go to the market, go to the doctor, or perhaps just go a relaxing drive with no destination.

As a social person who always loves to be on the go, I never understood my father. For years I was frustrated with him, wondering why he didn’t try to make more friends and see his extended family more often. I thought of my dad’s ability to be perfectly happy at home as some sort of problem that kept him from living life to the fullest. As someone who has spent much of my life in an airplane or a hotel room, I couldn’t imagine spending 23 hours a day at home.

As we get older, God has a way of helping us better understand and more fully love the people who are important to us. I would never have imagined that a global pandemic could bring me closer to my father years after his death, but it has.

Since the start of the pandemic, I’ve now had far more time at home than ever before. Since Michele is an “essential” worker who ended up working way more out of the home than ever before, I was often home for the whole day with just the kids (and many times, just with myself). I’ve found it’s really not so bad. And I’ve also found that many of the things that annoyed me with my dad are now things I now identify with. Time seems to be moving slower and I don’t care as much about what other people think, and I’m not stressed all the time that I might be missing out on something. And I’ve started to be able to accept things I cannot change and appreciate the small wonders around me. I feel like I can now understand and empathize with my father in a way I never could in the past. The challenges God gives often provide us with unexpected blessings.

Craig Fowler