Happy Returns of the Day
Sometimes you have a day when you're jeans fit, you finish your coffee before it gets cold, and everything on your to-do list gets checked off....Sometimes, like today, the things you thought were lost, or have been forestalled for so long, return to you. While I was visiting my Mother in Minnesota, John called with despair and muffled anguish in his voice. "There is no life in the pond...nothing, not one Koi!" Koi are more than pond fish in our household, they are pets trained to come when we whistle and they're graceful schooling ballet is a soothing joy to watch. "Gone?", I said in near disbelief. "How can that be? Not one left?" Nope, and no floaters either, nothing, zip, nada, zilch. Upwards of 60 fish of various sizes vanished in twelve hours! They were there when he left the house, and when he came home and whistled to feed them, not one fin swished. So we postulated how so many fish could disappear: a flock of herons? an eagle? Had the guilty cormorant returned with his buddies? Did a neighborhood youngster think it sport to fish for fancy catfish? Or did a raccoon feast royally on a $2,o00 fish dinner? I tried to comfort John. "They have had time to lay eggs, maybe we'll have a whole new crop." Well, maybe, but John was pretty well resigned that our beautiful Koi were history, and advanced that we shouldn't try to restock the pond until he was retired next year and would be home everyday to watch over his finned friends.
My God is never too busy, to listen and attend the things that concern me: no matter how small or great, perplexing or joyous. So I prayed that somehow there would be Koi in the pond again. Truthfully, I was hoping we would have fry, babies, darting about in the next few weeks. But I wasn't prepared for His answer.
This morning, I was looking out my study window when I saw a ring of ripples in the middle of the pond. Too far from shore to be a frog. It had to be a fish. I went to the deck, whistled, and tossed a little food. After a little coaxing, I saw an orange shadow about 8 inches below the surface. Then little by little, two , three, four, darting beneath and around the food. They were terrified, but not having been fed pellet food for five days and subsisting on a little duck weed and water hyacinth roots, they were very hungry. Little by little they started to flit to the surface for food: all sizes, black Koi with silver bellies, gold Koi with white spots, and John's prize fish, a golden beauty with a lyre tail. Thank you Jesus. The lost have been returned. We still don't know what terrified them and sent them to the bottom of the pond for almost a week, but they are back - a happy return of the day!
Just before we moved to Correctionville, we contracted with Marlow Jepsen to rebuild and restore John's grandmothers baby grand piano. Considering that the piano had traveled the world with Colonel and Helen Huling, it wasn't in real shabby shape, but the finish was caked and blackened. Some of the ivories were chipped. There were scrapes here and there and small splotches where the Colonel had tried to touch up the finish. And so, we decided that this Story and Clark heirloom from the thirties needed more than just a tune -up: a frame off restoration.
Well, Marlow had some health issues which stalled the process. And one day in April, four and a half years after it was delivered to his shop, he calls, "You're piano is ready."
Today it was delivered! What a transformation! Refinished in mahogany you see all the wood grain that had been buried beneath the age-blackened walnut finish.

Just as we praised God for the return of the the Koi, so God be praised for this beautiful instrument with which to glorify him. I could not wait for it to be tuned next week, I had to play it. Flung open the windows and as I played favorite praise choruses, the birds sang many happy returns of the day.