If you’re still with me after my recent six-week hiatus from writing, thanks for stopping by. I’ve been pretty busy lately and have come to realize that while I live mostly in my mind, in a world of thoughts and musings – much of what’s “usable” gets consumed by my family, in working with a wide variety of clients, and in church-related ministry. This leaves very little time and space to think other thoughts and write them down. Perhaps I’m not really a writer at all – just a dabbler, since I don’t seem to have any real “compulsion” to write. Who knows?
I’ve also become increasingly aware that as we get older and have less energy, it’s more tempting (and easier) to look backwards – interpreting the present by reflecting on the past; instead of continuing to push into the future, where the horizon gets closer every day. One of my consistent prayers is that God would continue to give me energy to engage the world – so that I don’t turn into an “old codger” who mostly pontificates on the past and rarely engages the present. I know it’s a stereotype…but it’s a real concern to me.
One thing I do know about myself is that I’m an avid reader. It’s one of the great blessings of my life to see that this trait has been passed on to my eldest daughter Rachel. Yesterday, we had a “Dad and Girls” night at home while my wife was away. We decided to watch a movie together, so I let Rachel pick. About an hour in, she suddenly announced that she didn’t want to watch any more and went to her room. A few minutes later, I heard her reading aloud to the dog…happily immersed in her latest book. When my life gets really busy, as it has in recent weeks, I usually find solace in reading books that offer an “escape” from the world. In that regard, the book I’m reading this week is something akin to a comfortable old shoe. Written by Patrick O’Brian, it’s entitled “The Commodore” and it’s the seventeenth of twenty-one books in his “Aubrey/Maturin Series”. I won’t bore you with endless details, but suffice to say that the series focuses on the British Navy in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries – around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. They are written in the language of the time, complete with all the nautical terminology common to sailing ships of that era. In fact, the terminolgy and language are so difficult to access that the publishers eventually deemed it necessary to issue a lexicon, so that readers could look up phrases, terms, etc. to increase their enjoyment of the books. It’s hard to describe, but once I get into it, I’m onboard their ship – seeing, smelling, and feeling everything they do. I know I’m gushing…but it’s a truly “liberating” experience for me.
Anyway, I’m glad to be back with you. Blessings.
