On my morning walk, my iPod (yes, I still use an iPod) was snugly connected to my ears. I have such an eclectic mix. If someone were to take a listen, they would be completely confused about what kind of music I like. I have Plumb and Rascal Flatts and The Righteous Brothers and Rihanna and Starship and Switchfoot and Oleta Adams and Dave Barnes and Todd Rundgren and Miley Cyrus and The West Chester Church of the Nazarene choir. My iPod is like Ellis Island; a real melting pot.
But today I landed on John Denver singing his melancholy “I’m Sorry”*. His dripping honey of a voice and details of his death always cause pensivity. I recently learned that his tragic accident in 1997 was exactly that, an accident in every sense of the word. He simply ran out of fuel and crashed his Long-EZ aircraft into the Monterey Bay. Oh my, the things we do not take an extra few minutes to check on.
Much of life feels like an accident/oversight or grace/protection. Accidents as simple as getting a boo-boo by scraping our elbow on a cabinet door to more profound “accidents”. Not long ago, I was driving down the road on which I live and came too close to a large trash receptacle. I hit it with my side mirror and it crackled into pieces. Preventable? Yes. Life-changing? No. But many are.
We have only so much brain capacity. We must practice how to remember important things and forget boo-boos on our elbows. I believe in God’s grace and mercy, though it is far from my comprehension. We are not pawns in His heavenly game of chess. We have freedom to think and do and make mistakes. Thankfully, since He made us, He knows us and simply nods his beautiful head.
*This contradicts a previous post about not liking 70’s music. The song “I’m Sorry” was released in July of 1975. Okay, so I like some 70’s music – John Denver, The Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John, Jackson Browne, The Temptations. I just don’t like the rock part of the 70’s, though I know you do, my friends Debi Woeber Hertel and Darlene Cooper. And I love that about you both.