Feeling Lucky?

I'm back!

We had a wonderful vacation with my son, his wife, and Matthias, our one-year-old grandson. Maine and elsewhere in New England. Great weather, good food, and amazement at how quickly kids change at a year old. How does a one-year-old who can't even talk yet manage self-consciously to make jokes to amuse the grown-ups?

The Old Testament book of Proverbs (17:6a) says, "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged." And while I'd rather be aged some other day, I'll go with the crown part. Matthias is a wonder to behold with wonderful parents and (if I may be so bold) wonderful grandparents on both sides.

Today, the first day back, I was slumming for lunch at the local Taco Bell. Walking to a table, I kicked a penny that was on the floor, but since my hands were full, I left it there. A minute or so later, a little boy who was probably about six came over to my table with the penny. "Did you lose a penny?" he asked as his mom looked on from another table. "No," I said, "I didn't."

He went back to his table and his mom said, "I guess you can keep it." He raised it on high in triumph. "You know," I told him, "my mom always told me that if you find a penny, you're sure to have a great day."

Actually what she said was that if you find a penny, you'll have good luck. She even had a couplet (even if it didn't rhyme) expressing this profound idea: "Find a penny, pick it up/And all the day you'll have good luck." She and my grandmother placed a penny in any wallet and purse given as a gift. I suppose so that the receiver would "find a penny and pick it up."

Smooth white stones also were said to convey good fortune and, in our family, were known as "Lucky Stones." This convention, however, stopped when my dad bought several tons of "Lucky Stones" to pave our driveway. It was, apparently a supply and demand thing.

At this point, I don't believe in luck at all. I believe in providence. Life is not a random roll of the dice. It has meaning, purpose, and direction--a telos or final cause. Matthias is not a "lucky kid." He is a blessed kid and we are blessed grandparents just to know him.

Back from vacation and in the same routine again, it's easy to look around and believe you're somehow lucky or unlucky depending on how you feel about the same routine. But we're not lucky or unlucky; we're blessed. And the sooner we see it, the happier we'll be.