June 13 – “The old man”

Yesterday was a pretty draining day for this old man.  I guess I may have still been recuperating from our flying trip to San Antonio, but by early afternoon I was beat.  Sundays are always tough.  Delivering a teaching with eternal ramifications is exhausting in and of itself.  Combine that with the effects of the medications I'm taking, and as I have said before, afternoons are especially hard to get through.  We had a brief respite when we went to lunch at McAlister's Deli with Nathan and April and Cailyn and Katie Cox.  She is a young woman who actually lived with us for a time when she was in high school.  She has since been in the Navy, serving in Japan and Iraq.  She is now in college in Washington, D.C., preparing for a career in some aspect of sign language.    After lunch I was anticipating an afternoon of rest or maybe even a quick trip to the beach for an hour or two of fishing.  But instead I had another of those occupational hazards of being in the ministry arise.  Chris and I ended up spending the entire afternoon in an impromptu counseling situation.  I don't think it would have been quite as difficult if I had had some warning.  But for the first time that I can remember I almost fell asleep listening to the person talk.  I was so glad Chris was there, too.  I ended up getting up several times and walking around to reboot.  By the time I was finally able to unwind, I was in pain from the most recent disc problem that has arisen in my neck.  That meant I couldn't find a comfortable spot on the couch even with my feet up on the coffee table (my usual position for watching key sporting events on television).    We watched the last quarter of the Mavericks vs. Heat pro "basketball" finals.  It was the most of that particular sport I have seen all year.  Not really basketball in the purist sense of the word, though.  I was pleased at the outcome.  It's always fun to see the greatly hyped, supposedly unbeatable, three-eyed Goliaths brought down to size by the simple teamwork of the not-so-greats.  It also didn't hurt that the Mavs were from Texas.  And that's close to Galveston.   Proverbs 14:26 says, "He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge."   Father, thank you for being my fortress in the middle of my frustrations with pain.  Welcome all of my kids into that security - that fortress - and be for them all the refuge they need.  Amen.