A GIFT

I saw a gift from God today. I saw grace waddling up an on-ramp to Highway Twenty-Three.

Actually, what I saw was two geese, but only one grabbed my attention, and held it. This is the second Saturday I have seen these geese, some thirty-five miles from my home, near the same spot. Last week, they were on the north side of the on-ramp, whereas today they were on the south side of the ramp. I must have been early, or maybe even a little late. Either they hadn’t crossed the road yet, or they had just crossed it.

Today, there was something about the goose nearest the road that made me smile. Maybe it was his large beak, or his beady black eyes. Maybe it was his neck, or the way he waddled so proudly. Maybe it was the fact that he was there at all.

Yeah, that’s it. He was there, on the side of the road, as though saying to all passers by, “Helloooo!!!!!”

And boy did he make me smile. For several minutes, long after the goose had passed out of sight, I remained smiling. And it wasn’t just any smile. It was a big, goofy smile, you know the type, halfway between smirking and laughing, but not quite ready to let loose with a hardy chuckle. I don’t know why I couldn’t stop smiling, but as I approached the one minute mark (so I would guess, if I had to estimate how long I had been smiling at this time), I began to be aware of how I was smiling, and of how I couldn't control it.

I smiled some more then, and quietly thanked God for the grace that I had seen this morning. I could have driven by those geese without ever seeing them, being in a hurry to get the day started and over with. I could have seen them, and thought nothing of them, because I had places to be, and no time to waste on smelling roses or fawning over a couple of birds.

But this morning, I smiled; a smile I couldn’t end, a smile I didn’t want to end. I was aware of God, seeing that goose and then thinking about him, and even more aware of God’s grace in my smile. It was a gift, one of many, but maybe the only one I noticed today, so I thought I would write about it, and share it with you.