Week Eight Begins

Today marks the seven week anniversary of my heart surgery. Much has happened in those seven weeks, most of which centers around healing. This week I got a little stronger, preached my first sermon from the pulpit in nine weeks and began the process of organizing an office due to a resignation of our church Admin. Plus, let me not forget a great Vacation Bible School, the first for the church in eight years. It was a full week that wore me out at times. Naps are a great gift of God!
Sunday I challenged the church to hope. First we hope for the promise of resurrection. Now that does not mean we are not sure, rather we anticipate the fulfillment of God's promise in our lives and begin to live as if we have already received the promise. Technically we have, but all too often people think it comes when we die. That is precisely why Jesus kept telling us that the Kingdom was near. As Paul says, though we see dimly now what we will see clearly in the future, we are given a taste of the kingdom now. I can truly appreciate what that means, realizing how fragile life can be.
Well, this week rehab starts. Looking forward to it.

Week 7 begins

Tomorrow (Monday) marks my 6th week with a reconditioned heart. This has been an interesting and yet sorrowful week. My heart goes out to the survivors and families in Aurora Colorado. There is nothing that will provide the kind of answers to this kind of tragedy that families usually seek. And a fellow minister on the Eastern Shore passed from us much too soon. He was an EMS and Fire Fighter and the truck rolled on the way to an accident. Again, there are no good answers as to why these events happen when they do. But the thing that we have is hope. Did you know that in the NRS version of the Bible, variations of the word Hope appear 209 times. Maybe not as many times as other words, but I find comfort in the fact that God's love provides us the kind of hope we need to face these events in our lives that overwhelm us. There are events that we remember so intently that we can tell you the hour, the people and the place when we heard the news. But in Christ, we have the one thing that allows us to not only survive, but to flourish and find joy in the midst of suffering and sorrow. And that is hope. Hope in the resurrection of the body that we will be made new in the image of God and stand in the presence of God. Hope that there is a place for us when this physical life comes to an end. Sometimes it is hope that is the hinge by which our lives flow from one room of life to the other.

This week physically has brought highs and lows as to be expected at this stage of my recovery. The highs are that Bonnie and I are up to 30 minutes of continuous walking at a fairly good pace each day. My daily intake of food continues to improve and some of the taste of food has come back. We visited with the Cardiologist and Endocrinologist this week. The Cardiologist says that I am progressing on a normal pace, that this stinging in my chest might last six months (not what I wanted to hear) and that my strength will slowly improve. The Endo says that my sugars will normalize in three months and then based on the numbers I may be able to back off some of the medicines. So all in all, good news this week. I have too say that the stinging sensation in my chest (like a extremely bad sun-burn) is tolerable most days. I did have to laugh when the Endo suggested that I need to set 180 pounds as a personal goal. Haven't weighed that in 40 years and that would require losing another 20 pounds. I am already down 24 from my pre-surgery weight. Well onward for another week. This week I will involved in Vacation Bible School at Grace, the first time in eight years and then preaching this upcoming Sunday.

Week 6 begins

Today begins week 6 of my recovery. And after looking at Face-book I realized that today is also the day four years ago that my childhood friend, golfing buddy and fellow pastor passed from us. It gives me even more incentive to work hard at doing the right things to recover and then live out this gift that I have been given. Life is a precious thing that we all too often take for granted. I remember some years back dealing with a vet who struggles with the "why" question. Why did he return and others did not. I think there is great theology behind life and death. God gives us life to learn what the perfect creation is and what it was supposed to look like. We humans continually mess that up with our controlling, selfish ways. And yet God never stops loving us. And death is the ultimate love for us. If we have come to faith, death is simply a stepping stone, like my friend Rick who I suspect is singing with the choir and preparing to whip my butt in golf in the heavens. For those who may choose to believe something different, a precious gift of life may be God giving us more time to choose. Or we could be given more time to make a difference in someone else's life for those that believe. 

I remember two discussions around the breakfast table on Friday mornings that used to come up with some regularity. One was that we need to remain still to hear that quiet voice of God. That it is in the stillness of reflection and prayer that God can often talk with us and we (who live in a world of self infused noise and clutter) can truly hear. And that we are running out of time. Whether Christ comes tomorrow or our passing arrives first, we truly have one less day than we did yesterday. And our task to further the Kingdom becomes so important when we realize that we are running out of time. 

What are you going to do with your gift of life?