The Crush of Time and Circumstances

Decisions have ramifications. Take retirement for instance. Sounds like a good thing...to pause, reflect, retool for the next chapter of life. Making such news known to friends, colleagues, parishioners, is bittersweet, for you are talking about change that affects their lives and your own; the joy in a new chapter of life, the sadness at leaving folks you hold dear. I think I was prepared for these ramifications when I made my announcement a few months back. Now, however, I am coming to terms with an aspect of this transition I had spent little time considering. The emotional and spiritual implications were well thought through; not so much so the physical. Yes, I am talking about moving, specifically, getting our house ready to sell.

We have spent several days in the last week or so going through different rooms to assess what to keep and what to let go of. It is exhausting in more ways than one. Clayton's room was the first to be assessed. Talk about a trip down memory lane! Clayton had just turned seven when we came to Westwood. His shelves, closets, and drawers were filled with items that invoked memories that caused us to take pause and reminisce. The realization that every room would provide opportunity for such reflection seemed overwhelming, but we persevered. The emotional came squarely up against the practical as we realized some things would have to be done to the house to get it ready to sell. And so, the slow, wistful march from room to room has given way to a more frantic pace ahead of the painters and handymen who are now at work.

Yesterday was spent in readying the basement and study for these repairs. At first, I rather cautiously sorted through things, treating them as treasures to be finely poured over. By last night, I was tossing right and left, filling trash bags and boxes with things once proudly possessed that needed to be disposed of before the painters arrived this morning.  At midnight, I was still schlepping boxes to the sub-basement and trash bags to the bin outside. With every trip it seemed that the bags and boxes were multiplying. Like many of my gender, I worked on the theory that volume was preferable to weight, so with each step I came to realize how heavy the inconsequential becomes collectively. My assistant in this project had tried to warn me, but I was resolute. As usual, she was right.

I realize this frenzy of activity over the last week or so is just the beginning. The things accumulated in one house over fifteen years and in a marriage of over thirty-five years are amazing. When they are all in their proper place or hidden away in blissful oblivion, they seem rather trivial. Taking them out, one by one, dusting them off, deciding their fate, and then disposing of them is a much more challenging endeavor indeed.

Perhaps the Psalmist was dealing with his own realization of the crush of time and circumstances when he wrote in Psalm 90, "Teach us to live wisely and well." (Psalm 90:12, MSG) In the middle of reminiscing, repairs, recycling, and refuse, those are correcting and encouraging words.

Sunday is "Bring a Friend Day," so give a friend or neighbor a call and invite them to join you at Westwood. We will have coffee, donuts, and juice in the narthex beginning at 9:15, so come a few minutes early and bring someone with you to Bible study and worship.

Finally, a biography has been written about our ministry partner and friend, Leena Levanya. Copies of this book will be available to purchase very soon for a cost of $20. All proceeds will go to help with the ongoing ministry of ServeTrust. Look for further details very soon about how you can purchase this book.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!

Jim Abernathy