Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Carry On...
This year my birthday (March 13th, for those of you who didn't notice the post below) fell on Sunday. Now, I certainly would not have felt guilty had I decided to sleep in, rather than go to church, but like a glutton for punishment I decided to set my alarm for 7:30am on the day that we moved our clocks forward. (What was I thinking!) Thanks to the time change I only got about five hours of sleep!
At 7:30am when my alarm went off I awoke to the following verse, blaring out of my clock radio, by Kansas: Carry on my wayward son, There'll be peace when you are done, Lay your weary head to rest, Don't you cry no more... I lay quietly in the dark listening to the words of the song, wondering how I should take the fact that these were the first words to greet me at the dawning of my 36th year. Is it an omen of struggles yet to come, or is it a promise of a brighter future? Or, is it just a song...?
For a moment my mind flashed to the beginning of an episode of Supernatural where a cool classic rock song plays over the speakers, the word "THEN" flashes in red on the TV screen, and a recap of the series plays before your eyes until the word "NOW" flashes on the screen, the rock song ends, and the story moves forward. (Most likely this happened as my body and mind tried to drift back to sleep after barely getting 5 hours of rest.) I saw the high points and the low points of the last 36 years flash in front of me and then opened my eyes to the potential of the year to come.
I could not have asked for a better day. The weather was beautiful. Gray and cool in the early morning then evolving into a beautiful sunny day with a moderate temperature. There was even a strange symmetry between our Sunday school/group discussion and the beauty of the worship service. Both were focused on the inclusion of everyone, no matter our differences, in God's love. Which, (having survived what I did) I can tell you is real, and does not discriminate for any reason. (That kind of message in a sermon means a great deal to me.) Then, after church, I spent the day at my parent's house with Mom, Dad, Sarah (my sister), Madeline (my niece), and Jamie (one of my oldest friends). My 36th birthday was definitely a new highpoint.
The day after...not so much. Nothing went the way I expected. It wasn't a bad day, but there were a lot of obstacles that kept me from accomplishing any of the things I set out to accomplish. I had no reason to leave the house and had a very productive day planned, but then something happened around 10:30am that led to a trip to the store that then led to a trip to another store, that then led to...(I think you get the point). I wasn't able to relax again until after 6:30pm! I found myself thinking back to the first words I heard when this year of my life began...Carry On....
At 7:30am when my alarm went off I awoke to the following verse, blaring out of my clock radio, by Kansas: Carry on my wayward son, There'll be peace when you are done, Lay your weary head to rest, Don't you cry no more... I lay quietly in the dark listening to the words of the song, wondering how I should take the fact that these were the first words to greet me at the dawning of my 36th year. Is it an omen of struggles yet to come, or is it a promise of a brighter future? Or, is it just a song...?
For a moment my mind flashed to the beginning of an episode of Supernatural where a cool classic rock song plays over the speakers, the word "THEN" flashes in red on the TV screen, and a recap of the series plays before your eyes until the word "NOW" flashes on the screen, the rock song ends, and the story moves forward. (Most likely this happened as my body and mind tried to drift back to sleep after barely getting 5 hours of rest.) I saw the high points and the low points of the last 36 years flash in front of me and then opened my eyes to the potential of the year to come.
I could not have asked for a better day. The weather was beautiful. Gray and cool in the early morning then evolving into a beautiful sunny day with a moderate temperature. There was even a strange symmetry between our Sunday school/group discussion and the beauty of the worship service. Both were focused on the inclusion of everyone, no matter our differences, in God's love. Which, (having survived what I did) I can tell you is real, and does not discriminate for any reason. (That kind of message in a sermon means a great deal to me.) Then, after church, I spent the day at my parent's house with Mom, Dad, Sarah (my sister), Madeline (my niece), and Jamie (one of my oldest friends). My 36th birthday was definitely a new highpoint.
The day after...not so much. Nothing went the way I expected. It wasn't a bad day, but there were a lot of obstacles that kept me from accomplishing any of the things I set out to accomplish. I had no reason to leave the house and had a very productive day planned, but then something happened around 10:30am that led to a trip to the store that then led to a trip to another store, that then led to...(I think you get the point). I wasn't able to relax again until after 6:30pm! I found myself thinking back to the first words I heard when this year of my life began...Carry On....
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Happy Birthday, Jeremy!
