Well! It Is About Time

Okay folks! The other day a friends said, "Ron, life isn't a dress rehearsal, but it is the real thing...what are doing about the "real thing" now!" Wow! He rung my bell. So often I get caught up in working toward the future, treating life as a destination rather than a journey, that I forget about being fully present in the now.

Well here is my now! My sister, Terry, is fifty-one years old and next week she is going to run the San Francisco Marathon. My father says that she will finish because she is stubborn. I find myself amazed at her discipline and I am so very proud of her, and her example has caused me to begin to examine my own commitments to physical well-being. I fantasize about joining my sister and/or my daughter, Rachel, in a marathon though I might walk.

I know that one's physical well-being is interrelated with your emotional and spiritual well-being, but I haven't paid enough attention to the later. Well, a very large brick hit me right between the eyes when my friend said, "life isn't a dress rehearsal,"and I began to think, "And my body is the real thing."

I have said the following for the last time, "Tomorrow, I am going to walk....Tomorrow.....I am going to work at losing weight." Well tomorrow will never come unless I make tomorrow now.
Some may say that I risk too much by by publically acknowledging my life long struggle with weight, but most people who know me know about this intensely personal struggle. Now is the time to do something.....So pray for me, and encourage me along the way.

My dream is that one year from now I will be walking the moors of the Northern Yorkshire, England for 10-days as a healthy, in shape human being, who is writing about his new life as a pilgrim on the way.

If you find yourself identifying with any of these thoughts then simply remember that we are never alone, and that this life is the "real thing."

Wow! It has been a while.

Here I go again! I woke up this morning, and decided that I must have something to say so why not say it. My daughter, Rachel, has left for college, and I am discovering that there are some things that you simply don't want to know when your child is 650 miles away, (campus freshman "hottie" of the week and Hendrix College Shirt Tales) but then I remember my own college experience and how the Sacred embraced me along the way. I trust her now to the Sacred

I received a phone call from Rachel asking whether or not her sister was with me. My response was, "no", but I am on the way to pick her up. She sounded disappointed. The next thing I know is that I received a text message asking if I could pick Rebekah up earlier. I didn't respond. When I picked up Rebekah at school, I told her that her sister, Rachel, would like for her to call . Rebekah looked somewhat puzzled, and proceeded to make the phone call. The first words out of Rebekah's mouth were, "Rachel...this is Rebekah." The next words out of Rebekah mouth made me cry. "Rachel...you don't need to cry." After the phone call Rebekah looked at me, and said, "I guess she really misses me."

You never really know how beautiful love is until it is absent. We do miss Rachel and I am glad.

Amazed

Sunday, February 15th, 2009, was absolutely glorious. We celebrated the baptism of a young child, and then welcomed over 25 unique individuals into the life and ministry of Colonial Hills United Methodist Church. The enthusiasm of the congregation was breathe-taking as we considered the multitude of gifts that these new members bring to our fchurch amily. We must remind ourselves that we can have countless numbers of elbows touching elbows, but the real invitation to true discipleship is to invite hearts touching hearts.

Following the 11:00 worship service over a 180 people gathered for a potluck dinner, and then the Rev. Sue White, Conference Evangelist, spoke to us about the importance of sharing our faith story.

I am reminded that whenever we gather in the name of Christ, we are sharing our faith story. Thanks be to God for Sunday, February 15th, 2009. I can't wait to see what God is going to do next.