Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Meeting Myself Coming And Going

Yesterday was a hectic day. It started off with my cell phone ringing about 5:55 AM while I was still in bed. It turned out to be my oldest who was having some car problems. "Dad, can you come over and pick up Chloe and take her to the daycare"? By the time I got out of bed, drove to my son's house, picked up Chloe, dropped her off at the day care, dropped my wife off at her office and then proceeded to my own workplace, I felt like I had driven a thousand miles and been on every interstate highway in the surrounding area. I was relieved to get to my office although by the time I sat at my desk I felt like I had already put in a day's work. Later in the day I had to meet with the new Deacon at my church to discuss the schedule for the men's retreat weekend we will be leading in a few weeks. The suggested schedule for the weekend resembles most people's lives. It is crammed full with details and activities and driven by the clock. Both of us, as well as most of the team of which we are a part, are introverted and laid back. It was a general consensus that we needed to soften the schedule a bit, round off some of the rough edges, and allow some breathing room. Of course, this can only be done so much and still be faithful to the original intent of the program. I believe, however, that we can present the important content of the weekend as directed by the program and not feel like we've just participated in a triathlon. The life of the spirit cannot be too restricted. Discipline is important but there also needs to flexibility. It's really all about balance. I like a lot of space in a retreat. Other's need a lot of content. A happy medium is somewhere in the middle.

At the end of the day I basically reversed my morning experience. I had to pick up my wife at her office, drive back to the daycare, pick up Chloe, take her to my home, feed and bathe her, and hope her father wasn't too late picking her up. The pouring rain during the evening rush hour made all of this even more enjoyable as I moved along at a snail's pace in the bumper to bumper traffic. It's a good thing that I love Chloe as much as she loves me!

The icing on the cake of my day was a storm that knocked out my power. When I woke up this morning it was still out and the temperature in my house was 47 degrees!

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