God Bless

The children were laughing and screaming and playing as children do. Their parents thought they were being a little too noisy, but their grandfather thought it sounded like music. When their mother called them to the dinner table, they bounced into the dining room and plopped into their chairs. The food looked so good they couldn’t wait to tuck into it. Finally mom said to go ahead and start, and the family spooned food onto their plates.

God had blessed them.

The young couple were still on their honeymoon. It felt so unreal. It all still seemed like a dream when they were seated at the outdoor patio balcony at La Grande Ristorante, overlooking the blue lagoon. They ordered the wine and soon the waiter returned to take their order. She wasn’t sure about the cost of everything. He reminded her that this was their one and only honeymoon and they wouldn’t feel the cost in the years to come, but they would always have the memories. She smiled at him and ordered her meal.

God had blessed them.

Retirement had once worried him. Not so for her. She knew it would be a wonderful time of their lives, a well-deserved finale to a satisfying and productive life together. And he had learned to relax after a time. The golden years were not as fraught with rusty joints, although there were more creaks than there had been a year ago and he was getting used to counting more age spots on his hands than he had counted a week ago. She had brought the sandwiches and fruit for their lunch. They sat down in the golf course outdoor patio to eat before starting the back nine.

God had blessed them.

He was used to it by now… saving half of his piece of bread from what he had been given the day before. It wasn’t having to beg for food or the hunger that bothered him. It was the longing for human contact, here in the middle of a big vibrant city. It was the uncaring of the passersby and the harsh looks, even scowls, of those who thought him less of a human because of his circumstances. But, in time, he guessed, even this would affect him less and less. He was lonely but he never felt that he was alone. From a soiled pocket he removed the piece of dried bread and looked at it for a brief moment before starting to nibble on it.

And then he blessed God.