Skip to main content

On The (Metaphorical) Road Again


                    Right around the time of the attacks of 9/11/2001, my boss retired. His boss was defeated in her re-election bid and County Council, in a display of power, eliminated two positions from the county labor force. One was vacant. The other was occupied by me. Five months later, I was hired at Sears and I remember thinking, "Oh no, they hired me. Now what am I going to do?" The people with whom I worked were often wonderful people, but I think they'll understand when I say that I found myself feeling like Joseph. I hadn't done anything wrong, but I was in prison. Leaving there to come here was like being released from prison. There was joy at being free and fear about what the future will hold. Will I make it? Or will I end up back in prison?

                Since I came down here with the idea of becoming a writer, I've found myself working on articles or chapters that are more challenging that I thought they'd be. They're not only challenging to write, but to my thinking and to the thinking of my audience. It's always been my goal to make people think, but this is foreign territory. It's interesting. It's intimidating.

            Another goal coming here was to find a church. Last week I wrote about my adventures in that regard. You know that old saying about finding something in the last place you look. That seems to be the case. I had wanted to find a church where I could effectively sit in the back and contribute without responsibility. The last place on my list of potential church homes was the church that meets at the rec hall of the resort where we're  staying. Over the past week, however, I have found my thinking going in a different direction. As I've walked around the dog friendly part of the resort every morning - often before sunrise - and prayed for my neighbors, I have had the opportunity to look at license plates. I've seen them from as far northeast as Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Quebec and as far north and west as Alberta, Michigan, Indiana and Iowa. When the resort is full there are probably 800-1000 people living here. I don't know how many attend the church here, but when I went there this morning I got the sense that I had found what I was looking for in the last place I would have looked.

           The idea of influencing these people; of purposely setting out with the idea of somehow ministering to them is intimidating. I have loved ministries in which I was involved before,  but they almost always seemed to end badly. I have no idea what sort of deliberate, responsible ministry I can possibly have here - it's too early to tell. That just seems to be the direction the road I'm on is taking me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more