1. Denver people have interesting driving habits. During the week, they can drive at a very leisurely pace. It isn't uncommon for people to drive 10-15 miles an hour below the speed limit on the Interstate. If you can go the speed limit, you're doing very well. It's not because of heavy traffic - it's just that people take their time. However, on Saturday the traffic moved at about the speed limit. Perhaps people who are looking forward to getting to the mountains for the day? But, this morning the traffic was moving along at 5 or more mph over the speed limit. I wonder... could it be the Christians hurrying to worship who are the speeders? Hmmm....
2. The pastor this morning used to sit in the balcony while I preached at Immanuel CRC in Orange City. That tells me two things: first, the Spirit can work, even in the balcony. Second, I'm getting old...
3. I've been thinking about the themes and things I've been learning on the sabbatical. Here are a few things that stand out:
A. I anticipated some time of solitude and silence at Iona, but found that the experience was much more about community and about healing and reconciliation. These themes are important to me, and are significant for the ministry of Pella I. To be a healthy community, where we love and respect one another, where we can disagree and still be loved brothers and sisters in Christ, where we can welcome diversity as part of God's beautiful family -- these are things that we are learning together. And there is a lot of brokenness, sorrow, grief, and pain in the lives of a lot of people in Pella, and God calls us to a ministry of reconciliation, to heal the wounds of life in a broken world. The things I've learned at Iona, at Luther Seminary, and here in Denver all help me to have a renewed passion for the ministry of the Church.
B. I came to Quiet Waters anticipating examining how God has been at work in me through the past 46 years, with an eye to what may lie ahead in the next 20 or so. However, I've had some new insight into myself, and into how I experience the joys and sorrows of life and ministry. God seems to be taking a different path than I had anticipated on this sabbatical.
C. "I lift up my eyes to the mountains.... My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth." We have seen the wonder and glory of the mountains and hills and countrysides of Scotland, Germany, and Colorado. We have been brought to places of breathtaking beauty, where we were compelled to cry out with the creation, "Glory!" The mountains and hills, the oceans and rivers, the cities and countrysides, and people of all languages and cultures proclaim the creative wisdom of God. Glory be to God!
D. I have been made more keenly aware of how blessed I am with the family I have. God has given me a wonderful gift in Karin -- a beautiful complement so that we strengthen and encourage each other. I was blessed with terrific parents who provided me a stable home and encouraged me to excel. I am blessed with fantastic children who delight my heart and make me smile. And I have been blessed with the true family, the family of God, the Church. Thank you, God, for the gift of family.
