It is still summer vacation for kids
And their school is still out.
Jane is happy and thrilled with her dance classes.
Jonathan is excited with his summer camp at the Tech.
We spend the days just being with them and seeing them grow.
We are witnessing in real time their transformation
from child-chrysalises to butterfly-persons.
Bit by bit, inch by inch, from knowledge into wisdom.
“Lord, it is good that we are here.”
Life unfolds and it keeps on changing.
Even in old age, we keep on learning new things.
People yet to meet, places yet to see, things yet to do.
Last week, we did a San Francisco day tour,
Riding the trains and the bus and walking the streets.
It was a great feeling that we could do these without our car.
A great feeling of freedom not to be tied down.
A greater feeling that we can do it without the car.
The experience of such detachment is truly liberating.
A small realization perhaps but a subtle change in mind-set.
Do we see the greatest transformations in ourselves in old-age?
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
Last Christmas season, we saw our youngest son finally get married.
It was a whirlwind of preparations and activities, leading up to the big day.
In a few weeks, we saw out youngest grow
from the baby we always saw him as
to a fine young man ready to take his bride
down the altar into their life together.
It was a transformation that took long in coming.
Macky and Lani had great plans
and they carefully worked on these together:
from high school through college to medical school.
And we were ringside spectators to their great transformation.
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
Life is all about changes and changing.
It has its highs and lows, its peaks and valleys.
The lows are the shadows and dark days in our lives.
They are the struggles we go through
To see and reach our peaks.
The peaks are moments of glory and achievement.
They are the high moments when the struggle up the slopes
Make sense and worth the effort.
These are moments we learn and say in gratitude:
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 97
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Matthew 17:1–4