Overall 2014 was a good year, though it was one of loss. My
wife and I have had a lot of struggle in our lives, but the last two have
brought us something God has mercifully shielded us from for much of our
earthly existence: sorrow. Over past year, and a little beyond, we suffered the
loss of my dad, her mom, two beloved pets, and one of our old, faithful church
members. Also, closing our church and the aftermath of that was a loss unlike
anything either of us were familiar. Still, looking back, I call it a good time
in our lives. Though we suffered losses, we also were blessed with much gain during
the last twelve months.
We have gained some new friends. John and Patsy Misterfeld
are people God has graciously placed in our lives. John is my main training
partner at Twin Rivers. He is a bit old and arthritic, and while I swim, he
treads water in the diving well. But John is serious about his training and
mine, and he will stay in the pool as long as I am there. Sometimes he even
goads me on to swim longer than I had prepared for. He has a genuine desire to
see me succeed. Last fall, we did a four hour swim. He was there until the end.
I told him that day that at some point in the future we would look back on
these times as “the good old days.” One
thing I have lived long enough to learn is that every season in your life is in
some way special. Embrace the present, cherish the past, and look forward to
the future. Besides helping my swim training, John makes me pray. We start and
end each session in prayer, and if I don’t pray enough, he will jump in and
pray some more. I need that influence in my life right now.
We also reconnected with some old friends, Daniel and Mary
Jane Collins. Daniel is a lot like that fellow me n Poot met in Carroll County
in 1971. He is always pondering some deep intellectual problem. Every now and
then he likes to play Socrates on my and lead me into some discussion he is
prepared for and I am not. Happily he doesn’t do that too often. But he is a
good influence on me. John makes me pray and train. Daniel makes me think.
Another plus for the year is the reemergence of my running.
Starting in early 2009, I had four years of bad running. Four years. At my age,
I don’t have too many years to lose. I gave up several times during those years
because I could no longer bear the emotional turmoil of not being able to run
anymore. But out of habit I just kept putting on my shoes and heading out the
door. Last year I started coming around just in time to do myself in with my
ill-fated attempt at the Great Noxapater Journey Run. This year, however, I am really
getting back to the place where I can go out and have fun like when Buddy Bones
and I do adventure marathons.
We found a new church home. Our little church closed in May
after twenty-three years of ministry there. Penny and I then set out on a quest
to find a new place to worship. We found it the last place we looked. Obviously
it would have been the last place we looked because why keep looking if you
found it? The point I am not making well is that it was the last place on our
list. I got my first teaching job that way. I made a list of twenty-three
schools in the order, from one to twenty-three, that I wanted to work for them
with one being my first choice. I either talked to or visited the first twenty-two
and decided I did not want to work for number twenty-three. I wept, was
despondent, and gave up hope of securing employment for the upcoming school
year. Then, number twenty-three called me. To make a short story long, I went
to work for number twenty-three and it was one of the most enjoyable years of
my life. Centerville Baptist Church was like that. It was on our list but the
very last one. We visited. We stayed. When a friend of mine recently inquired
about the church I said, “They love Jesus and they like to eat. I can get along
with that.”
God blessed us with other things in 2014:
- Our grandchildren gets better looking everyday.
- He gave us Baby Kitty.
- I am filled with hope and enthusiasm for the Chicot Challenge IV.
- We still have Momma.
- We still have Penny’s dad.
- We still have each other. Thirty-seven years and counting.
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