Slowing Down Life.

I think that sometimes people in this world get rushed. People get in a bad mental attitude and stop appreciating all that is good in the world. I found that happening to me this morning coming back to work after having a great 4 day weekend for Thanksgiving. I was annoyed that I had to be there, and was wishing that I could just take vacation time for my last four days on the job. I decided to leave the building, my calls, my computer, and all my stress to go to lunch. I grabbed some fast food and went to one of my favorite spots to take a lunch alone, Lake Loveland. I parked my car facing the lake and watched the normally very placid water, in an obnoxiously rough state with the wind blowing fiercely along the surface. You could see the white caps of the waves (very tiny for those of you who live near an ocean, but huge for this lake), rolling toward me and the rocks that line the south side of the lake. The waves would crash up against the rocks and the wind would take the resulting explosion of water and blow it into the car windshield. I took a few minutes to enjoy imagining being on the coast with a storm blowing in. Though I have never lived by the ocean, I have loved the time I have spent in place like Monterey, CA and Cape Cod, and it’s fun to pretend I’m back there. I then started to pay even more attention to what I was seeing and saw a rainbow shining through the water as it exploded against the rocks. I looked across the lake and saw all the houses and trees lining the opposite bank, as well as Loveland High School. I let memories of that building set in a little bit. Behind this scene I saw my beautiful Rocky Mountains that I love soooo much, looming under the clear blue cloudless sky. There was a statue that I love next to my car of 4 kids trying to balance on a toppled log; a picture of everybody's childhood set in bronze for eternity. On the other side of me was a white City of Loveland pickup truck with the driver sleeping in the cab; I'm sure catching a quick nap on his lunch break. The path that runs along the lake was decorated for Christmas already, with each of the light poles dotting the sidewalk dressed up in green, red, and gold candle disguises. It felt sooo good to be able to slow down, and contemplate Gods calling in my life. It was perfect to be able to look past all the negatives that often dot the landscape, like the cold windy weather, and the uncertain direction of life; and to see the beauty that IS life and Gods creation. To just sit there for what felt like 10 minutes (but was really an hour), and be at peace before entering back into the world.

In the Beginning

So I just turned 30 about a month ago, and in the time since that has happened I have gone from plans of buying a house and settling down in Loveland, to a decision to move out of state and attend seminary with the goal of achieving a Masters of Divinity.
I have gone from having a great job with a good company, and making more money then I have ever made in my life, to looking at how to apply for unemployment, and worries on how much money I can scrape up in financial aid.
I recently attended a workshop on change, and the message was that change wasn’t the end of something; it was really the beginning of something else. So here I am “In the Beginning” and at the advice of somebody I trust, I have decided to start a journal of my thoughts and feelings as I try to discern what God is calling me to do, and what direction he would lead me in. Rather then hide these written entries in a book on my desk, I open my thoughts to you, so that you can feel free to comment, encourage, challenge, and inspire me, and that maybe I can do the same for you.