|
THANKSGIVING REFLECTIONS FROM THE ROAD
Six months ago, my life changed forever. I retired from the world of factory management, union negotiations, and competing in a global economy in a company that had just "gone public." And then I became your minister. This was an opportunity my wife and I had dreamed about. Unfortunately, as one dream came true, another dream was shattered. Two days after becoming your minister, my wife died.
I drove to Florida and Texas to spend Thanksgiving with family, whom I hadn't seen in six months. Two thousand miles of driving and four days on a Florida golf course gave me time to reflect on circumstances that I couldn't have imagined a year ago.
Central Christian Church, thank you for your gracious love as I journey through my grief. Thank you for your prayers, your hugs, your cookies and casseroles and your friendships. And because shattered dreams mend all too slowly, thank you for your patience. To my family in Texas, Florida, and Kansas, God bless you, as you deal with grief.
During the past week of travels, I claimed a prayer adapted from Psalm 3 from Psalms for Healing by Gretchen Person.
"I love you O Lord my strength. The Lord is my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation and my stronghold.
In my distress, I called upon the Lord. To my God I cried for help and from his temple, he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. He reached down from on high; he took me, and he drew me out of mighty waters.
Lord God, I thank you for being my strength and refuge. In the face of death, I called upon you and you heard my cry. Now, I give you thanks. In Jesus' name. Amen."
This holiday season, let the love of Jesus Christ give you new hope, particularly if in 2004, some of your hopes and dreams were shattered. And to my golfing buddies, Burl, Jim, Bob, Ken, Bill, Chester, Marion, Chuck, and John--thanks for the golf lessons. They worked!
|
|
