SUITCASE

I had planned to post something different this evening, but sometimes you just have to listen to the good Lord when he's speaking to you. This morning my mother had sent me a message to ask about an old suitcase I had borrowed some time ago from my childhood home. Something I had assumed to be just a find from a thrift store, unbeknownst to me, had belonged to my late grandfather. Also unbeknownst... to me, today marks 35 years since he passed. Sometimes you carry roots deeper than you ever realize.

As I was responding to my mother, letting her know that the family heirloom was still in good hands, a song came on the radio that reminded me that we're all part of a bigger picture. "If Heaven wasn't so far away, I'd pack up the kids and go for the day. Introduce them to their grandpa, Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks." It may not sound like much, but those lines had already been on my mind all morning before I had ever spoke with my mother. I can't explain the feeling it gave me, but it was part of something bigger.

I'm not sure that I'll ever see the whole picture that the good Lord is working on down here, but I can see a part of the story full circle. The aged suitcase is my grandfather's. The worn-out hat is mine and a part of the beginnings of Dixie Reserve. They found one another. I bet he could have never dreamed of the places that suitcase has gone. I can't wait to see where that old hat will take me as I carry that suitcase.

Thanks for the message from Heaven, Dick. We miss ya down here!