Reflections (Shaving)

I shaved this morning.  Actually I have shaved every morning during the coronavirus episode.  I have been shaving even though this is a great time to forgo shaving.  I could use this as a fine reason to experiment with a beard!  But I keep shaving.  Each morning.  Why?
Shaving is a normal routine.  I find it helpful to maintain some "normal" activities when everything is definitely abnormal. 
But the real reason I shave every morning is tied to what it reminds me of.
Like most boys, I started shaving several months before I needed to!  I had watched dad shave all those years.  He used a safety razor, which seems anything but safe to me.  It seems like only a short step from a straight edge razor like the barber used.  No way for me.
I started with a Gillette Trac II. 
Along with the razor came the after shave lotion.  High Karate, Jade East, Old Spice (too much like my grandfather), English Leather, Brut.  There were probably others.  (I have settled on Brut).
Through the years I experimented with shaving.  I tried a bic disposable ONCE.  I still have scars and a crazy story, but that is not for now.
I tried electric razors.  I actually used one for two weeks at one time.  That was when I was in India on a mission trip.  Never have had a reasonably close shave with an electric razor. 
With that said, let me get to why I shave every morning.
When my grandfather died on March 12, 1989, one of his things I kept was a shaving mug.  He used it off and on.  That is where you put shaving soap in a mug, get it wet, use a shaving brush to make suds, and apply it. 
I always used various shaving creams.  I liked Gillette Foamy but discovered it cost more than Barbasol.  That became my go to.  At less than a dollar a can....
I digress.
I was talking with our kids one time as we drew near Christmas.  What would you like for Christmas?  One year I said, how about a shaving brush and mug.  Sure enough, that was my Christmas gift a few years back.  I started using it that day and continue to do so.
Now they can give me shaving accessories for Christmas.  Solves that problem.
But here is the point.
Every morning when I wet the brush and apply the soap, I think of where it came from.  I think of our kids - family - and breathe a little prayer of blessing.  I am reminded of my grandfather and that kicks in memories of family and all they have given.  I find myself being thankful for the gift of water and soap, realizing that in very close proximity are people who are homeless and have no access to this that I take for granted. 
That is the main reason I shave every morning.
I reminds me of blessings and people who are very dear to me.  Thanks Bobby, Leslie, Andrea and Billy.  You bless me each day.
One more thing.  What might you find in the simple, regular, activities of life that will inspire and encourage you in these very abnormal times of Covid-19?  I bet there is something.
This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
steve