Been a long time...
Yes, I am alive.
I would say things have been busy lately, but they always are. I suppose it's more the case that I have kept myself busy with other matters that have seemed more important than blogging. Of course, when I really think about it, most anything is more important than blogging.
There's been a lot to ponder recently. The second half of 2008, particularly the last two months, turned out to be fairly grim. One of my grandmothers passed away. My remaining grandmother has lost both her remaining sisters and, at the beginning of this week, the husband to one of them. Meanwhile, my recent pastoral visits to church members have only deepened the sense of life's fragility as I've met and prayed with two persons who have lingered at the precipice of death. It's a new experience - being pastor to a person you know is going to die and her family.
There's a lot of work on the horizon. I'm looking forward to the end of winter's slumber and a new start for the vegetable garden outside. The spring will inaugurate my fourth iteration of gardening in the past few years. Upwards and forwards! Meanwhile, 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the Baptist movement. The celebrations and articles and meetings and arguments will undoubtedly throw up as much fog as they do light. I hope to be a person of the light in the ongoing conversation! (grin)
There's much to give us pause. Are we, globally speaking, soon to reach the peak of oil production? Is global warming reaching a catastrophic tipping point? What will "the economy" do (inasmuch as we speak according this abstract fiction that separates the economy from the collective weight of our individual and collective choices)? Will our world become more or less violent this year?
I'm glad 2008 is over. I'm not sure I welcome 2009. But it comes to us regardless, and ultimately time is a divine gift. May we use it well.
I would say things have been busy lately, but they always are. I suppose it's more the case that I have kept myself busy with other matters that have seemed more important than blogging. Of course, when I really think about it, most anything is more important than blogging.
There's been a lot to ponder recently. The second half of 2008, particularly the last two months, turned out to be fairly grim. One of my grandmothers passed away. My remaining grandmother has lost both her remaining sisters and, at the beginning of this week, the husband to one of them. Meanwhile, my recent pastoral visits to church members have only deepened the sense of life's fragility as I've met and prayed with two persons who have lingered at the precipice of death. It's a new experience - being pastor to a person you know is going to die and her family.
There's a lot of work on the horizon. I'm looking forward to the end of winter's slumber and a new start for the vegetable garden outside. The spring will inaugurate my fourth iteration of gardening in the past few years. Upwards and forwards! Meanwhile, 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the Baptist movement. The celebrations and articles and meetings and arguments will undoubtedly throw up as much fog as they do light. I hope to be a person of the light in the ongoing conversation! (grin)
There's much to give us pause. Are we, globally speaking, soon to reach the peak of oil production? Is global warming reaching a catastrophic tipping point? What will "the economy" do (inasmuch as we speak according this abstract fiction that separates the economy from the collective weight of our individual and collective choices)? Will our world become more or less violent this year?
I'm glad 2008 is over. I'm not sure I welcome 2009. But it comes to us regardless, and ultimately time is a divine gift. May we use it well.
Sorry to hear about your relatives. I, too, plan to do a vegetable garden. I meant to do one last summer, but with my master's program starting and getting married at the same time, it never materialized. I hope to at least try tomatoes this spring.
Posted by
Jacob |
Sunday, January 04, 2009 11:16:00 AM
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