Lighthouses

In the midst of the these gales of October, there are occasional beacons of hope, and I forgot about one of them from earlier today. I saw my former college band director today, the man I studied with to earn my conducting degree. He was conducting an honors band today and I was there to do a master class for the trombonists. It was terrific to see him because, like all of his former students, I have great affection for him. We were able to catch up briefly. I asked him how his move to Texas was treating him, and how he was enjoying retirement. He then asked about me. I told him the usual stuff: the job's fine, I love my town, I'm not anxious to move, etc. Then I mentioned that I was still a bachelor, which prompted him to say that this is something we needed to work on. I relayed that I had thought I'd found the woman who I hoped to marry and that she rejected me just about a month ago.

To this he responded with a kind and avuncular smile and said, "Well, before you know it and when you least expect it, you'll meet someone and you'll be smacked right between the eyes, not knowing what hit you, and you'll be so glad and thankful that things didn't work out with this woman. This is the way things work, and the way they're supposed to work. You'll see."

It was nice to hear an old teacher and friend say such encouraging words to me today, in a manner that wasn't patronizing or said in a somber tone to encourage me. He said this with complete faith, with a glint in his eye that allowed me for a moment to grab a hold of a vision and a belief that it would all work out. He has no idea how much hearing those words meant to me. He gave me a glimpse of the shore.

There was another beacon today--I heard God today, and I'm keeping that to myself. Ironically, what I heard made me love Meg all the more, but in a very different sense than any sort of romantic love. It was definitely another glimpse of the shore.