The Face on the Milkman

I remember that smile on the face of our milkman.         I remember his eyes.  They spoke.  They told me he loved his work.  He loved the people he served.  He felt good providing for others.  I felt happy when I saw his smile.

I remember a similar look was on the face of a the Wonder bread baker.  As a kindergarten class we excitedly boarded a small bus which took us to the Wonder bread factory! At the end of the tour that filled our minds with wonder over all that we had seen, a very kind man handed each of us, personally, a small miniature loaf of bread.  I was so excited because it was even in a little Wonder bread wrapper!  He didn't just tell us to take one, but he placed one in each of our hands.  Such a little thing, but it made it feel like a gift, which it was, and his smile and eyes told us that he loved his work.  He loved us children who came to visit and he loved providing for others.  I took my treasure home and wanted to eat it but wanted to save it forever.

Today I walked into an old country store (Lehman's Market) and there I saw it!!  Up high on the wall was an old poster of a milkman!  The face of that milkman smiled down at me from that old vintage poster, transporting me to a day and age I had nearly forgotten.

So where are we now?  Those faces, those eyes, those smiles from the past - when work was done out of love and with a feeling of service.  Men, women, moms, dads...the things they did made that piece of their world a better place for all.

How Grand the Picture of Life

 As I look out at the sparkling waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca it is with awe that I realize that within and below that surface we can see with our eyes- is LIFE!  Lives of whales and octopus and a whole world of life of all sizes, even microscopic, going on right there.  We look at it but we can't see it; yet we know it is happening right there under the water.   

I look out over the seemingly silent landscape and realize that dotting that quiet view are countless lives noisily rushing about engaged in pursuits of their choosing - oblivious to their very purpose for being and living.  A whole world full of life.  I look out there; I can't see it with my eyes, yet I know it is happening.

I look up to the heavens, through the clouds, into the blue incomprehensible endlessness.  Out there are worlds without number. Worlds of lives going on, all numbered to God - and somewhere a kingdom from whence we came and to which we will return.  Worlds of lives going on.  I look up there; I can't see it, yet I know it is happening.

I look within and there is an eternal spirit stirring within a miraculous mortal body - designed by God - to live and reproduce and function and heal itself - all without our awareness.  Blood flows through our veins, heart beats, organs function, brain responds, stores, files and commands - all while we are busy with other things.*

Truly that is what God is all about - LIFE.  Life in the waters, the heavens, in the soil, the sea, the leaf and in our own veins.  Within us is a spirit that has been to another world!  And it will yet be to other worlds!

How grand is the picture of life.  The life that we see and know of and even the life going on that we can't see - yet we know it is happening, is only a tiny fragment of eternal reality!  What lies before us is awesome to ponder!

As I think of the world of lives going on, I think of an infinite atonement that was made on our world.  Other worlds must learn of our world and the great sacrifice that took place here.  How small the odds are that in the eternal spectrum of time, I should be or exist at the time of this world and with all those worlds, I should be on the very one in which the Savior lived.  That is awesome to ponder.

*Sleep is an odd thing when you think about it.  We shut ourselves down like turning off a computer and then lie there for hours, unproductive, like a run down battery that needs recharging, yet so many things go on inside of us while we sleep!  We are all pre-programmed and operational through our central intelligence.  It is miraculous what goes on; what really happens in us while we are sleeping!