Day Twelve - Thankful for Communication

On Saturday our youngest son had his first swim meet of the season. We were at the pool for many hours, and I passed the time by doing some knitting as I was watching. It was a bittersweet time for me. I was missing our oldest son. It was our first time to be at a swim meet, without him. I know I also was missing him since we won't see him until a week before Christmas. In the midst of all these thoughts, I was interrupted by a small voice.

One of the very young swimmers was very interested in my knitting, and what I was doing. She asked quite a few questions. She wanted to feel the yarn and know what I was making. When I asked her how old she was, I was surprised to discover that she was the same age that I was when my mother first taught me to knit. In the midst of a sad time for me, I was surprised by this little sprite. I found that her questions and interests brought me joy.

Isn't that just how communication can be at times? We can be in the midst of a hard day, when someone stops and speaks an encouraging word to us. Suddenly we are surrounded by joy and a weight is lifted off our shoulders.

We also experienced joy last evening when our son from college called. My husband, youngest son and I all got on the phone. It was a joy to hear our two boys converse with each other. They talked about the things they will do together when our oldest is home over Christmas break. It also was a joy to hear the encouragement in our oldest son's voice. Even though he is facing his first Thanksgiving without us, we also could hear his joy despite the circumstances as well. What a blessing! So today I am thankful for the blessings of communication.