Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

Our home has grown by three souls. God gives us what we need. We don't always understand why He does things as he does. We don't always know what in the world He means for us to do. Sometimes all we can do is take one step after another and figure things out as we go.

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I know this, however. There is nothing like a grandchild to bring a smile to your face. It's weird. I'm back to helping someone with their English homework (and driving her crazy like I did my own kids). They always complained that I took over their writing projects. Really, all I did was make them do it over and over till they wrote it so that it made sense.

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The problem with the way English is taught in high school today is that they give kids one shot essays and papers to write. Then they give them a grade and that's that. The way I used to teach was that I made the kids rewrite until their papers made sense. I tried to teach them to write the way they speak. All three of my kids are pretty good writers. Micah and Matt both wrote poetry. I'm not sure if Meg ever tried it. She's pretty secretive (like I was at her age). There could be volumes of her poetry somewhere that I don't know about. I know she did a beautiful video about Micah for his memorial service. She organizes programs for church that are pretty amazing. Her wedding was a work of art. I missed all that when Micah died and Meg moved out.

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There's an old saying that goes, "Practice makes perfect." It doesn't

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Perfect Practice makes Perfect. If you practice incorrectly, you will never learn to do a thing correctly. That applies to the life you live. Christ calls for us to be perfect. Actually in the text where he says that, the word actually is in a strange tense - something like a continuing future perfect tense. It really should read "you will therefore be becoming perfect..."

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Becoming perfect is a continuing process. You work at it and as you do you get better at it, whether it's good writing or good living.

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God was kind to Sheila and I. He gave us two beautiful grandchildren and one has moved in with us along with my sweet daughter-in-law and my eldest son who works much too hard. Our other granddaughter who is in college does come over here to do her homework. They are both sweethearts and have been a joy to both of us. This photo is the first one I have of my Sweet Baboo smiling in more than a year. Children and grandchildren draw you beyond yourself and your narrow view of life and give you the chance to perfect your character by practicing love. And they love you back which is really cool.

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Meg & Will were over here over the weekend and we had a lovely time. Family is important if we are to survive in this hard cold world. We hang together and hold each other up or we wither and die. When we lost Micah last year, I wasn't sure we would survive. Grief still overcomes me sometimes and I live for the day I will see my child again - all of them together. We're planning a big cookout and party at our new house in heaven. I can't wait.

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Till then, we thank God for our children and grandchildren. They keep us alive....

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Just one man giving thanks....

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Tom