I think I’ve had an epiphany.   I’ve had some friends ask lately how I get enough ideas to write a daily blog.  That’s a great question, one that I struggle with actually.  There are some days like today where the ideas just pop in my head and I can’t type fast enough.  There are other days when I just sit for a while until something, anything pops in  my head.  After all, this is supposed to be an exercise in discipline, not some grand dissertation.  But last night, as I was relating the experiences I had had that day to Doug, is when this hit me. What if the experiences I have each day are leading to a lesson I’m supposed to be learning?

As I’ve gotten older, during hard times, I’m learned to ask, “Lord, what am I supposed to be learning here?”  Don’t get me wrong – I’m pretty stubborn and I still tend to try to fix things myself and cry “woe is me”, but in my heart of hearts, I know God is trying to teach me something.  It’s actually when times are going well that I have the most trouble.  I think I know better than that, but it’s easy to ignore things God wants you to hear when things are going well.  That’s why this epiphany may be life changing for me.  I’m sure there will be some of you who read this and think, wow, she’s just now getting this?  I never said I was a rocket scientist.  Anyway, here’s what happened yesterday.

I went to the band’s game day rehearsal.  This is not unusual as I’ve been going to Doug’s rehearsals for the past 36 years or so.  I was sitting with a good friend, when we saw another friend coming up the steps of the stadium towards us so we invited him to sit with us.  This is a friend I know by name, I know what he does for a living and I know his dear wife recently passed away, but I’m not sure I’ve ever just sat and talked to him, and I don’t think I had spoken to him one on one since she passed.  The subject of his wife naturally came up in conversation and I was honored that he shared some precious memories and experiences of her with me.  While every marriage has its ups and downs, theirs was obviously a match made in heaven.  I can’t even imagine what he is feeling. I can sympathize but certainly not empathize.  I was moved by the fact that he was continuing to do life the best he could because he knew she would “kick his butt” if he didn’t.  A hard thing to listen to, but now I know this friend so much better and I’m a better person for it.

The rehearsal included the alumni band.  There were 250+ alums there to march with the current Cornhusker band.  I saw young and old alike, reliving the days when they had the opportunity to be a part of something greater than themselves.  They got together for the experience and the opportunity to relive memories with former classmates,  friends, some now spouses (you know how band kids tend to marry each other), some parents and adult children, all sharing their common love for this organization.  Despite the heat, the uncomfortable chairs, the marching and rehearsing, carrying heavy instruments, these people were willing to do it to relive those memories.

In the stands later that evening, they ran a tribute to some former Husker football greats on the jumbo screen.  Now, I’ll be honest with you, I could care less personally.  Not sure if it’s because I’m a woman and football is fun and all, but not a priority in my life, or if I didn’t relate because I didn’t experience the great plays in person.  Anyway, since I wasn’t riveted to the screen, I watched the people around me.  Everyone grew just a little bit quieter and I focused on the faces of the mostly men and boys surrounding me.  The two young boys, much too young to have experienced these football greats personally,  stared wide-eyed with their mouths open as they watched.  But it was the older men who caught my attention.  I saw the slight upward curve of their mouths, the knowing look and the twinkle (or perhaps a little tear) in their eyes.  Maybe remembering the play while watching with their dad, maybe remembering being in college with their buddies or on a date with their future wife.  Reliving what it was to feel young and excited by excellence in an activity they love.

So yes, the epiphany.  As I was relating these stories to Doug, it suddenly occurred to me that they all had a common thread.  In each experience, these people were sharing memories.  Memories of people they loved, who made a difference in their lives, who made life fun.  Memories of shared or personal experiences which made a difference. But in order to have these memories we have to experience life with people.  All kinds of people.  People who will enrich our lives in ways we never imagined.  Even for those of us introverted types who tend to be loners.

As I look through my past blogs, I think most of them have a “theme” of sorts.  What if this theme is what I’m supposed to be learning that day?  What if I’m supposed to be applying what I’ve learned from that theme into my own life?  How many “themes” have we ignored or not noticed on a daily basis that could have changed our lives and the lives of others for the better?  Just like a great lesson plan teaches a concept in a number of ways, I wonder if God uses that same method to get his point across to us?  A personal lesson plan just for me? The question is, are we engaged in the lesson?