The Parable of a Potted Plant

How many potted plants have you killed?

Over my life time I’ve gotten better at keeping them alive but in the beginning not so much. I’m pretty sure that my reputation as a black thumb was well known throughout the plant kingdom. So much so that plants would pretend to already be deceased to avoid my selection when I walked the aisles of our local nursery. Coleus would coward, ferns would faint, and philodendron would phade. You get the picture.

I would select a few victims anyway and take them home with every intention in the world of giving them a long and loving life. They were usually in the compost pile within the month. I thought, well maybe the plants I picked were unhealthy to begin with so I got the idea to try growing said plants from seeds. That led to a plethora of mud pots. So now I let the plants live and enjoy their beauty in my neighbor’s landscaping. Although I do think they lay low when I pass by.

This past weekend, Pastor Mark at our church walked us through the parable of the sower from Matthew 13. His message brought back the memories of my seed sowing potting attempts from years gone by and got me thinking in a new way about the sower’s story. Here’s the text from Matthew 13:

‘That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop that was a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’

Seed was scattered everywhere and for various reasons the sowing would fail. From the path, to the rocky places, to the shallow soil, to the thorns, and finally to good soil. We read that only in the good soil did the seed grow and thrive. The failure and success of the seeds also showed me a parallel in the parable of my own life.

In my life, some ideas and decisions, some seeds, have germinated and others never took root. Some have grown and bloomed while others broke the surface then withered quickly away. Some grew large while others remained small. Not everything grew and those seeds that did grow did so in different ways to different heights. And some grew so large that they had to be uprooted and transplanted to a larger space to continue growing.

The process continues.

Life events have shown me that just like when a potted plant has grown too large and can’t grow anymore in the space it’s been in, it’s time for me to replant. Just like plants, our lives are meant to grow to the full extent that God has created us to achieve. Graduation, marriage, divorce, children, job changes, new homes, illness, and death of loved ones. All these life events are times when the soil we’ve been living in is perhaps no longer the soil we can grow in.

It’s not easy to uproot and replant. Sometimes in the process there’s damage to our roots and our growth is slowed down by the trauma of the transplanting. But we know to grow we must move to a larger space, a healthier place, and with time our roots will take hold again and our lives will start to regenerate. New growth will break through.

For me the past four years have been a process of uprooting and replanting. Of stagnation and growing. Of failing and retrying. It’s feeling like another time of transplanting for me. After living in a four bedroom home, then a two bedroom apartment, then for the past one and a half years in my RV (the USS Terra in case you’ve forgotten), and now a two bedroom apartment again, I’m looking at moving back to my hometown and buying a house to use as my home base. Still looking forward to adventures on the road but not living full time in the Terra. I’d like to become a part of the community again back home and contribute to the comeback, the new growth, that’s happening there. So, the Doodle and I are in the process of finding a new pot and hoping to have that pot picked by spring. Maybe early summer.

One last thought. Where do we find the good soil? I’m thinking it’s not always in a specific place but rather it comes down to how we cultivate the soil we plant ourselves in. Some soil is perhaps just not any good and we need to replant but I think most times the soil we spread our roots in can become good soil if we just look to the Sower and follow His ways of tending and nurturing so that the soil and ourselves will become the all that He has created us to be.

Hope your soil is good. May you grow to all you are intended to be.

October 10, 2020:

Realized this morning that I spend a lot of my time these days looking up at the sky and out to the horizon. I’m wondering what that means.

Does looking out to the horizon indicate that I’m looking for what’s next? Where I am now is okay but what’s down the road? What’s ahead?

Does looking up at the sky say that I’m a dreamer? Looking for what I wish and what may be. Will my dreams and ideas for the future be what I have longed for? Will tomorrow bring me all that I’ve wanted?

There is one other view I spend quite a bit of time looking through these days and that’s the quiet still gaze into the campfire. My mind drifts, as I watch the flames, to scattered thoughts. Random. Peace.

My current devotional study spoke to this, this morning. Here’s a portion of it:

“Setting goals is fun and games. Going after them is another matter. Without perspiration to match your inspiration, your dream imagined will turn into a dream deferred.”

A dream deferred or maybe even a dead dream.

Inspiration without perspiration reminded me of a couple quotes from one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies, Pale Rider:

“There’s plain few problems can’t be solved with a little sweat and hard work.”

“Well, that Spirit ain’t worth spit without a little exercise.”

Over the years I’ve paraphrased these two lines to become ‘faith without sweat ain’t worth spit’. And this takes my mind to scripture to the book of James chapter 2 verses 14-16:

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”

And verse 17: “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

I guess where I’m going with this is it’s great to be a dreamer and to make goals and plans but without taking that first step to reach your dreams or getting back on the road after stumbling off, you will never make it to where you want to be. It takes work. Hard work. Doable work.

So today as I sit in the campground watching the sun rise above the trees and sunlight break through between the clouds, I’m thinking about the future. Both what I wish it to be and what it may be.

But beyond those two thoughts I’m also very thankful for what my life has been. The dreams I’ve had, the work I’ve done, the person God has helped me become.

And for tomorrow, I’m excited to see what’s over the horizon and, to steal just the title of another memorable film, “What Dreams May Come.”

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬

So my friends dream big, watch the horizon, and take those steps to get you where you want to be. You just might end up where you’ve always needed to be. Where God wants you to be.

See you down the road….

Captain’s Log – Star Date: 12006.16 – One More Step

A friend shared the clip below with me this morning from the movie Facing The Giants. I’ve watched this movie a few times. If you’re into sports and specifically football it’s a great story but even if you’re not a sports person, this movie is worthy of your time. Give it a watch…

https://youtu.be/-sUKoKQlEC4 Facing The Giants – Death Crawl

As I watched this clip again, I was drawn into the words the coach kept using to encourage his player to keep going. No matter that the player couldn’t see how far he still had to go, those encouraging and yes difficult words, kept pulling him forward. Carrying the load he was bearing much farther than he thought he could. To not give up but keep pushing on even though it hurt. No matter how much it hurt.

That’s how it is for you and I. The load we carry are sometimes so heavy. We might not even know why we are carrying it. We ask why me? Why is this happening to me?

Maybe we feel we can carry it for a short while, a distance that seems sufficient to us. But when that load stays on us longer than we expected, we grow so tired of it. So weary. To take another step while still carrying our load is impossible. It’s too hard. We want to give up.

But we too have a coach that is on our side. Giving us words of encouragement. Supporting us by guiding us in which way we should turn. The words of our coach are hard to hear and many times difficult to follow. But his words are always what’s best for us. If we trust in his words and fully believe that he is for us, not against us, we can reach our goals. Even go farther than we thought we could with our burden.

And we find out we can actually carry that burden and more if we have faith in our coach and believe in his words.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:37‬

Who’s your coach? Are you listening to his words? Do you believe him when he says you can do it and he’ll be right there with you the entire way? I do because the only way I’ve been able to carry my heaviest burdens is by trusting in my coach and his words.

What burdens do you carry? What goal seems too hard to reach? As we all continue to carry our loads, our burdens, let’s remember to keep listening to our coach. Let’s allow his words of encouragement to envelope us, to strengthen us, to guide as we crawl our way through life.

In the end we’ll see that our coach was right. We could and can do it. And we were even able to carry 20 lbs more than we thought we could.

Keep crawling and carry on.

See you down the road….

Captain’s Log – Star Date: 12006.13 – Some Sunny Day

Happy to report that the crew of the USS Terra enjoyed a lovely day here in central Ohio. After a rainy morning the sun broke through the clouds and provided pleasant temperatures in the 70s. Tonight is cool and calm. A few clouds have rolled back in so sunset tonight should be colorful. Not sure this captain will stay on duty long enough to see it. My bunk is calling and it sounds very inviting. Perfect night to leave the windows open and enjoy the sounds of the woods and the aroma of the campfires.

Living on the Terra full time for these past 10 months has been exactly what I needed and had hoped for. There’s a peace that comes with this style of living. The road can be tiring some days but once we reach our destination, there is most times than not a serenity waiting for us. Once we’re docked at our site I have found nothing better that sitting in a camp chair either under the awning or around the campfire and just relaxing. There’s a rejuvenation of the soul that occurs from this simple way of living. Much less stress. Much less demand. And way more peace.

There was a song recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd called ‘Simple Man’. It has sort of become my theme song since last August when the Doodle and I started this journey. I haven’t looked back at my previous posts and I’m thinking I may have written about this song before but it’s worth bringing up again.

In my life, at times, I’ve tried to be more than I have been. I don’t see anything wrong with that and you never know if you can make more of your life unless you try. Sometimes I have been able to ‘improve’ my life by obtaining a better job, gaining higher pay, or living in a better neighborhood. Those times were good and felt right during those years of achievement. The most meaningful accomplishment in my life was winning the heart of a beautiful woman and with her raising three wonderful children. I’m proud of that. But the honest reality is that it wasn’t really me achieving those things by my own decisions and actions. They were gifts.

Which brings me back to the song ‘Simple Man’. The song is about a mother giving words of advice to her son. Here are a the first two verses:

Mama told me when I was young
“Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it’ll help you some sunny day”

“Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You’ll find a woman and you’ll find love
And don’t forget, son, there is someone up above”

When I first heard Simple Man, I thought the fourth line in the first verse said “And if you do this it’ll help you some stormy day”. Makes sense doesn’t it that on some stormy day a son could sure use some wise words from his mama. I sang ‘stormy’ instead of ‘sunny’ for a very long time until one day I looked at the lyrics and noticed that I was wrong. I was surprised that the writer used the words ‘sunny day’. If it’s a sunny day then things must be going well. Why would we need help on a sunny day I thought. At this point in my life, after the storms I’ve gone through, those words about a sunny day make sense.

When someone shares with us their life experiences we need to take that information to heart. I’ve learned that we are meant to hear those words when they are spoken because we will need them at some point down the road. Most likely many times. Both stormy and sunny days. Those words of advice and encouragement are blessings that we need to hold on to. They are gifts given that we could never earn or learn on our own. Gifts from those that have gone before us and also from someone up above.

A simple life of thanks is what I’m trying to live these days. The storms of life have been rough. I’ve learned we can’t avoid them. So when they come we need to remember the words shared with us before and do our best to simply get through it. Because on the other side of those storms, the sun still shines. Thankfully.

“Boy, don’t you worry, you’ll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied”

There’s a lot to living a life and perhaps, just maybe, keeping it simple is the right approach. Because I think when it all comes right down to it, isn’t what we’re all really longing for is to just be satisfied?

I aim to keep following my heart while living this simple life of mine. Where ever the road takes me. To be satisfied. I hope you can too.

Thank you mama.

See you down the road my friends….

Captain’s Log – Star Date: 12006.12

The following begins a new twist to Posts From Along The Road as I am fully engaging my nerdness and connection with Star Trek to share with you what’s going on in my universe. I have embraced my fondness for Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Picard, Data, and all the other members of Starfleet and feel it’s only logical to log my experiences as the captain of the USS Terra should. I would imagine Mr. Spock approves of this enterprise.

So, with that in mind, let’s begin to boldly go….

For the past couple of weeks, each day has brought many thoughts and emotions to me. With the virus seeming to spike up again across the country (and world), with the economic impacts so many are living with right now due to the virus and the decisions made by our leaders, and with the civil protests continuing to try and bring equality and harmony to all our communities, I’m sensing a change is coming to our world. Yes in the world as a whole but more specifically in our local more personal worlds too. What that change or changes will actually be I do not know but it sure feels like some major shift is happening.

Change is always difficult and usually confusing. It’s a bit of a paradox. On one hand I can see changes are needed in our society, in our government, in our faith communities, and in my life. But on the other hand I feel how hard those changes are going to be for many of us, including myself. To understand, accept, and adapt to those changes will not be easy but not impossible. I’ve never feared change. Especially when it was for the betterment of our society. But not all change is good and it’s attempting to discern the good from the bad that causes me some anxiety and frustration. Perhaps you feel the same.

Our world, the Earth, is round (sorry flat worlders). It spins thankfully in a steady controlled fashion and we are able to hold on each day and not fly off into space. Every 24 hours we come back to where we started the day before. 365 days each year this holds true. But our personal worlds seem different. Each day we may wake to find it the same as the day before but often it’s changed. While we were sleeping something happened that now makes our personal world, our lives, different. We question if we can hold on and what the future holds for us personally.

In my 60 years of living, change seems to come in cycles. Repeating cycles. Not always orderly spaced out like on a schedule but still occurring over and over again. It seems to me that like the Earth, our lives are round and repeating. We experience seasons. Times of growth and decay. Times of plenty and hardship. Times of health and illness. There sure seems to be a circle to it all and we are traveling around that circle. We can’t get off even if we try.

The crew of the USS Enterprise, when they began their three year mission, had no idea what was waiting for them out there. Okay the actors in the show had a script so yes they knew but the characters they were portraying did not. The captain and crew knew nothing of what might happen the next episode but still they continued their journey with the hope that what lied before them, no matter what it would be, was something they could face and learn from. They would make it through and be changed, hopefully for the good, by what they encountered.

So whatever changes are coming for me and in my world, I think it’s only logical to do all I can to understand why those changes are happening. To discern if they are for the good of the world and the people around me. Perhaps they are or perhaps some may not be but I feel it is my duty to try to understand what’s happening and why. And then to boldly make those needed changes within myself to take one step closer to a world that is better for all of us. I think that is the prime directive we are all called to live by.

Have a fantastic Friday! See you down the road….

To Boldly Go

Captain’s Log – Star Date 12006.01:

Weird way to start this post but if you follow Posts From Along The Road on Facebook, then you should know I’m a Star Trek fan. All Star Trek series. Well except Deep Space Nine . It was just too far out there for me. It just wasn’t logical.

So with that in mind, here’s my captain’s log entry for today….

While taking our walk tonight around the perimeter of Base Sunbury, the First Officer and I were admiring the cloud formations and the way the sunlight accentuated the difference between light and dark. Actually the F.O., aka the Doodle, was admiring all the ground scents that the dogs from this past weekend left behind. We both enjoyed what our senses were revealing just in different ways from different perspectives.

It’s interesting how the angle of the sun gives a different perspective on the sky. One moment the sun is bright and the sky shines blue. The next moment clouds have come into view and we have a mix of blue and white. The next we see darkening skies and the light moving to the background, out of view. And just now because those darkening skies looked like a storm coming, I chose to turn my back to it and walk back to the Terra for shelter.

It’s still the same sky, or ground from the Doodle’s perspective, but we’re just seeing or sensing things a little differently due to the environment around us having changed. And this made me think about not just the sky and ground but the world as a whole that we’re living in these days.

Sometimes we don’t see what’s really around us until something or someone sheds new light on it. What we see now had always been there but for perhaps many reasons we didn’t recognize it. Or we chose to ignore it and look elsewhere. But now here it is before us and we need to deal with it. To believe it. To address it. To make changes because of it. Not to try and change the path of the storm but to change ourselves to go through it and overcome it.

I’ve been blessed to live 60 years in relative peace and safety. There’s been a few storms blow through my life but nothing that severely harmed me. That’s not true for many other people and I’m seeing that much more clearly. More clearly than I ever have. I’m not sure yet what I can specifically do about it but I do know I can’t ignore it. Not anymore.

Our world has so much potential. We have so much potential. To do good for one another. To love one another. To walk along side one another with respect and compassion. Not seeing each other as shades of darkness and differences but as beams of light and shared life. This current storm is an opportunity, no I think a necessity, to make our world a better place for all of us. And I’m finally ready.

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew‬ ‭22:37-39‬

Yes I’m a Sci-Fi nerd and a follower of the Christ. If these two identities can coexist equally within me then I know we as the people of this world can too. And with God’s help, or more like us finally realizing and living our lives the way He wishes we would, we can do it. We just need to help one another in love. Then we will truly go boldly where man has never gone before. Together. Kind of cheesy I know but we need to make it so.

Engage in the change my friends and see you down the road….

Trying To Be Perfect

Is this you? It’s me sometimes, mostly while I’m writing, but overall not too often these days. You see with age comes wisdom and part of that wisdom is knowing that no matter how hard I or you try, are you ready for this, we will NEVER be perfect. And honestly I’m not sure why you or I would ever want to be. I’ve learned that happiness is far from being found within perfection. It’s the messes in our lives that seem to hold the most meaning and even happiness for us.

As I continue to grow the seeds of thought and word within me (hey that’s pretty good writing right there), I’ve started reading the book ‘Bird by Bird – Some Instructions on Writing and Life’ written by Anne Lamott. It’s a great read for anyone. Funny and thought provoking as she describes her experiences and lessons learned from writing and from life.

In her book, Anne pens; “Perfection is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life.. Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground – you can still discover new treasures under all those piles, clean things up, edit things out, fix things, get a grip. Tidiness suggests that something is as good as it’s going to get. Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation, while writing (and I’ll add living) needs to breathe and move.”

What in your past did you want to be perfect at? What today? Is it really perfection you’re after or more of obtaining a sense of fullness, confidence, or maybe even validation? How much time have you spent on the minuscule details of trying to be perfect that you’ve missed out on the joys found within the infinite inconsistencies of imperfection? Maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for not in the perfect and clean living of your life but in the mud puddles of each day.

It’s a sunny warmer day here in Central Ohio. Sitting in the Terra as I write this, I have the windows open letting the cool 60 degree breeze flow through. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty good. Honestly it’s really good. Starting tomorrow we have four days of wet yet warmer weather. I’m thinking there will be plenty of mud puddles for the Doodle and I to jump into this weekend and you know, in a way, that, in itself, is kind of perfect.

See you down the road….

Happy Mother’s Day

Just a quick shoutout to all the moms from a son and dad that really appreciate all you ladies do for your families. For many, you are the rock, the foundation, that our homes and lives are built upon. Your strength and love is what holds us together and keeps us going. I was blessed with a mom like that and my kids have been too.

Here’s a brief history of the creation of Mother’s Day here in the U.S. (from Wikipedia):

“ The modern holiday of Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. St Andrew’s Methodist Church now holds the International Mother’s Day Shrine.

Her campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Ann Jarvis had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War, and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.

Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she started and to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”.

In 1908, the U.S. Congress rejected a proposal to make Mother’s Day an official holiday, joking that they would also have to proclaim a “Mother-in-law’s Day”. However, owing to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all U.S. states observed the holiday, with some of them officially recognizing Mother’s Day as a local holiday (the first being West Virginia, Jarvis’ home state, in 1910). In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers. “

So here’s to you Mom, Mother, Mamma, Madra, Madre, Okaasan, Makuahine, Mutter, Maman, Ma. No matter the culture or language, one thing is the certain. The beauty and love our mothers share with us and live out each day is a gift and something we’ll cherish all our days.

Happy Mother’s Day!

And see you down the road….

The End Of The Line

Will someone please check the calendar? This is Spring, right? A cold 30 degrees this morning at the Terra but bright skies. As long as there’s some sunshine, the cold ain’t so bad. Hey, that might be a good lyrical line for a song. I’d better start working on that.

I’ve convinced myself to limit the news I watch and reading all the Facebook posts, no make those arguments and spend my mornings this week listening to music. It definitely helps to improve my mood and keeps my vocal cords in shape. Unfortunately, that’s about the only muscle group getting exercise these days. I need warmer drier weather to get back to walking in the woods.

This morning as I was singing along to the ‘Feel Good Classic Rock’ station on Prime Music, the song ‘The End of the Line’ started playing. The one that was done by the Traveling Wilburys. I had not heard it for quite some time but the lyrics came back to me immediately.

“Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, doing the best you can
Well it’s all right, as long as you lend a hand”

These days I think we’re all doing the best we can. Not too much living as we please but if we can get out and take a ride in the breeze while maintaining an appropriate social distance of course, I think we would all feel better. The Doodle and I are going to take a drive today and let the cold Ohio breeze blow through our hair. For about 30 seconds. Brrrr.

While we are all getting through this strange time, are you lending a hand as the last line of the verse above mentions? I’ve been cooped up in the Terra for three weeks now since driving back to Ohio from Florida, and for the Doodle’s sake (she has asked for her own social distancing), I’m connecting with different organizations in the area to see how I can help in serving the community. Not sure what I’ll end up doing but excited to be able to do so.

One thing on Facebook that has been encouraging for me to see is all the videos of people sharing simple acts of kindness with each other. I wish we had more of that on social media. So many ways to brighten the day of those around us. I encourage you to think of what would be fun for you to share with others and go for it.

Our church, Meadow Park, has a philosophy that we all need to ‘Live Love’. We pick multiple days each year to go out into the community as the body of Christ and share simple acts of kindness to whomever God brings our way. Those are some of the best days all year for those we meet (we hope) and for ourselves as well. Nothing fancy, just trying to Live Love. On those days and every day.

The last two verses to End of the Line are below. Or maybe they’re the chorus, forgive me, Mr. Havelka (my high school choir director), for not remembering my song structure correctly. But I guess it really doesn’t matter.

The point of the song, to me, is even if we’re old and gray and even if the sun don’t shine, we’re all still going to the end of the line. So why not remember to live (love) and let live and do our best to forgive.

“Well it’s all right, even if you’re old and gray
Well it’s all right, you still got something to say
Well it’s all right, remember to live and let live
Well it’s all right, the best you can do is forgive”

“Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, even if the sun don’t shine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line”

I hope you make time to ride around in the breeze over the days ahead. And find a way to do the best you can to lend a hand as we all ride out this crazy coronavirus together.

Be encouraged folks. And be encouragement to one another.

See you down the road….

Is This Surreal Life

Is this just fantasy.
Caught in a landslide.
No escape from quarantine.

Not quite the words you may remember from the song Bohemian Rhapsody but those are the words that have been playing in my mind since listening to the song this morning. It truly is a surreal time we are all living in.

Now don’t worry. I haven’t shot a man – yet. But as I listened, okay as I was singing to the song this morning I started to think about how the stress, anxiety, and uncertainty Freddie Mercury felt is very similar to what many of us are feeling now. I know there have been moments these past couple weeks that I have felt like a poor boy with shivers down my spine. No body aches yet and I sure do hope they don’t start.

But anyway, isn’t it crazy how quickly our world has changed? Both throughout the globe and in our own personal worlds? We’ve gone from every day living to waiting on the daily press conference from our President or Governor to see how we need to adjust our living for the next day. Can we, should we go to the park for a walk or grab some groceries from the store? Will I loose my job? How will I pay my bills? Will I get sick? Will someone I love? What can I do right now to help others in more need than I am?

So many questions and to make it even worse, so many opinions and news reports bombarding us each day on television or through social media. It’s a lot to take in and process. It’s easy to start feeling overwhelmed. I have at times so I’ve limited by news and social media time to just in the morning and then again in the early evening. And there’s the daily 2pm ‘Wine with DeWine’ press conference here in Ohio. I am running low on red wine in case anyone wants to help a guy out.

Self isolating, social distancing, and sheltering at home in some regards are really easy for me to do. I live in an RV. Just me and the Doodle. There’s plenty of room between our lot and the few others here at our current campground. Enough room to take a walk and still be able to say hi or have a short conversation from a six foot distance. Not quite as cordial as usual at the campground but still friendly enough. I’m looking forward to being able to gather around a campfire with folks again and share a few cold drinks.

Until that time is possible, I’m looking for ways to stay in contact with people. My family and friends. Especially my grand kids. Being able to call, text, FaceTime, Hangout, and Skype with them is really helpful but still there are times when loneliness creeps in. I’m comfortable being alone and pretty much always have been comfortable with it but when being alone is not just by choice it’s a little harder.

I found myself getting caught up in the vast uncertainty of what’s going on and decided to limit the input, like I mentioned above, and to substitute that and fill my time reading and with music. Most of my reading is in the Bible right now and devotional type books. I’ve been a follower of the Christ for 35 years and in good times and bad, I’m pulled back to the scriptures and the message of love and grace that has and always will be there for me. For all of us. For everyone. I find not just comfort in that but also confidence that no matter what is going on or how crazy the world around may be, I can face it.

And music. Since I was probably three or four years old, I’ve loved music. I can’t say all music, like that whole Ska thing a few years back, but almost every genre of music I do enjoy. Just depends upon my mood and the occasion. Lately in the mornings I’ve been listening to southern rock from the 70’s to get my day started. While cooking, I usually have mellow acoustic tunes playing either from the 70s or some pretty good current artists. I may change genres five or six times throughout the day. Basically just following where my spirit takes me. And of course I’m singing along. Scripture does tell us to make a joyful noise don’t you know. That’s one scripture lesson that I can pretty easily follow.

The Doodle and I came back to Ohio about four weeks early in case traveling within the US became more restricted. I wasn’t really excited to drive back into Ohio weather but it’s comforting to be back and to be close to my kids and friends. I am waiting ten to fourteen days before going to see anyone just in case I picked up the virus on my trip back. Can’t wait to hug, play with, and tickle my grand kids. And one or two other folks I know. You know who you are.

Sitting here tonight, riding out a pretty good thunderstorm, I’m writing this and thinking how thankful I really am. Life’s been good to me so far although very challenging at times. Even disappointing and tragic. But my life has taught me to enjoy today. To live in each moment as they come. To not worry about tomorrow because in all honestly I have very little control over it. That’s pretty obvious right now in my world and probably in yours too. To give my concerns and fears to the One that does know the future and to be at peace as much as I can each day. Some days are easier than others to do that but my faith keeps me trying. And my hope doesn’t fade.

So folks, I encourage you to turn off the news and decrease your time on social media over the weeks before us. Find a few good books and spend your time getting lost for a while in the worlds written in those pages. And turn on those old songs that you know by heart and sing along as loud as you can. Loud enough for your neighbors to hear you. You may just be giving them the song they need to hear and the courage to sing through the days ahead.

Any way the wind blows.

See you down the road….