A surprise party brings clarity
Having passed through the ups and downs of last week, I went out on the screened-in patio to enjoy the warmth and the sights and sounds of the summer upon us in Lynchburg, Virginia. In the final hours, I also awaited the upcoming celebration.
Friday, June 19, marked the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents, Joseph and Linda Riley. Together they had five children, 14 grandchildren and a great grandson.
To commemorate the past and honor the two for the ongoing legacy begun in 1976, my three sisters planned a surprise party. My parents went away to the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa in Hot Springs, Virginia for two nights while my siblings prepared for their return home. Preparations involved mints, nuts and a matching three-layer cake to reflect the wedding celebration in ‘76. There was Texas-style food we could’ve eaten back home in San Antonio. And there was punch. Some of my parents closest friends they met in Virginia were invited as well as all my parents grandchildren.
David and his sisters next to cake and punch before the parents arrive.
Two things happened when my parents arrived. First, they were totally surprised, and things worked out perfectly in that regard. All the guests who came had plenty of time to arrive as my mom and dad spent all afternoon in Charlottesville at the different retailers. My parents didn’t expect to receive honor, but they received high honors for 50 years of legacy building.
With shopping bags in hand my parents came in through the front door, probably ready for some rest to be prepared for the next day. Instead they walked in to a houseful of guests to receive hugs from their grandchildren.
Also surprise brings out something extraordinary in life. The event confronted a reality in me: the only reason I, or anyone else, was at that event on Friday night was that 50 years prior, God brought two people together to continue his creative role in the world. Even the emerging lives of the grandchildren were engendered in them.
Perhaps if it weren’t for the element of surprise, God’s providence and sustaining care for his creation would not have easily been reflected in my thoughts that evening. Planning, expecting, and accounting take over on any given day and leads to calculated, anxious, and self-conscious thoughts. It is a stiffness I constantly have to break away from in making artwork. And I can write a little better if I loosen up. The unexpected and a confrontation with raw emotions lays things bare.
Perspective changes. When focus comes off myself, I am free to see life in a fuller way. There is a bigger picture. The 50th anniversary of my parents marks 50 years of God’s grace and his creative power in a fallen world.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? —Matthew 6:30
