I am very pleased with my life. I get to do what I love – maximize the gift
of others (pastors and churches) to help them accomplish their God given
dreams. My two adult children are living
productive lives and figuring out things like marriage, raising a family,
finances, etc… quite well. I’m very proud of them. A grandson and another one soon to arrive
have given me an unspeakable joy, something that really is unexplainable. My wife still chooses to live in the same
house as me after 30 years of marriage and we remain best friends. In the words of my friend Handel, “I’m too blessed
to be stressed.” Well, that part isn’t
true. I haven’t managed to conquer that
demon as of today, but it is early.
Occasionally, I need to escape. It doesn’t have to be by myself – but this
week plans were changed and I find myself in San Antonio Texas by myself – I have
had lots of time by myself. Good things
have happened in the solitude. I have
escaped, changed venues, refreshed my soul and the pressures - although still all
around me, have been slightly lifted.
1 John 2:15 – Do not love the world or anything in the
world. At the end of the 3rd
century, in the deserts of Egypt, Christian men would flee from the hustle and
bustle of city life. They would ‘find
God in the desert’. It was away from
society that they were able to pursue God radically and listen to him
intently. But once they found a
foothold, they would return to the city to ‘pull the world to safety.’
That’s why I retreat.
That’s why I travel to conferences and put a day or two on the front end or
back end. So when I get home from the
desert, I can pull the world to safety.
I have a full active life.
It’s too busy. The task is too large. Today, I am praying for a cleansing from pressure,
illusions and pretenses that confront me, and that my life would be a
gift to those around me.
Today, colleagues arrive and the ‘all by myself’ ends. I leave the desert back to city life with
an agenda, breakout sessions, phone calls, note taking and too much food. But for this moment, all is well!
