So, I'm not very good at updating this and for that I have to apologize. I know that there are several people who are curious about my time in Baldwin and I know that my infrequent updates do not help to curb that curiosity. I have found that when you have a blog, it is best to not write until the muse strikes you to do so. So I think that I'm conceding my previous ambition to write twice a week in favor of writing when the thoughts come to me. That way, I hope that the quality of my posts makes up for the lack of quantity.
That said, the last week or ten days have been uneventful. My sermon on the 22nd was well received, much to my surprise. I didn't really feel good about it that morning when I got up, yet people came away from that sermon with things to ponder. I am sure that the Spirit was at work there, for it wasn't me. Not to say that on a good Sunday that the Spirit isn't at work, but it becomes more readily apparent on days when the preacher isn't bringing his or her best stuff. If people are still able to learn and be edified by sermons like that, then praise the Lord. Today after church though, one of the elders talked to me at coffee time and said that he appreciated my demeanor. For a rookie, I don't do too bad of a job up there and I appear comfortable. One thing that he did say that I could improve on was the depth of the sermon, something that he believed would come with time, as life experience accumulates. I hope so, for I want to have sermons that are deep in nature. I don't like shallowness in others, so I certainly shouldn't tolerate it in myself. But dad, I think I have already come a long way since writing about the class trip to Hartwick Pines in fifth grade. I still have a way to go, but that's okay. It'll come with time I'm sure.
Today was also the day in which we heard about the mission trip to Malawi that some people from the church (including Pastor Tim) went on for two weeks. It was good to hear from them and hear the experiences that they had. You could tell in their eyes and body language that they were pumped, they were on a spiritual high. It would be interesting to see how this trip they went on will change their lives. Sadly I won't be able to witness that change. It was cool to hear how different Malawi was from the States. They have to make do with less, and indeed they do. Community is more valued. Something that I wonder if we have but a dim view of what it means to live life together sometimes. I wonder if, in their material poverty, others live richer lives. I wonder if those of us who have everything we need and want are actually the ones who are impoverished.
Three weeks from tomorrow I will be driving home to Michigan. Be quite honest, while I've certainly appreciated my time in Baldwin, I'm ready to head home. I'm ready to go home. It will be good to be back among friends and family. There are two places in life that are deeply embedded in my soul, imprinted in who I am as a person. One would be that stretch of M-66 from Klinker Corner to Anderson's Orchard. It's where I grew up. Where I learned to walk and talk. Where I learned to read. A love that was fostered by two parents who encouraged such things. Its where I had my first victories in life, and where I suffered my first defeats. Its where I first learned about Jesus. It's where I was first told by some that Jesus was an angry god who had to be appeased. It is where I was first told the truth about the beauty of grace. A gift given out of love by a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Memories of that place flood back to me whenever I get into the car to go home.
Then there is Holland. That quirky little corner of the world that is stuck in a bygone era, yet also very much in the present time. Where the beach is only a few minutes away. Where there is a church on every corner. Another place where I have laughed and cried. Sometimes both at the same time. It's where I've met some of my dearest friends, who are like brothers to me in so many ways. I didn't have a lot of friends in high school. The friendships that I had then have not really stood the test of time. They've faded into distant memory. High school seems like a lifetime ago. Yet has only been seven years. I actually didn't have that many friends in college either, only about three. Those friendships have stood the test of time. It is in seminary that I have really come out of my shell though. So many dear brothers that I know I'll miss next year after we all graduate. I also have others that I know will not be there this year as well. I'll miss that. But we go our separate ways as God leads us on to new things. I have no doubt though, that many of these friendships that I have made in seminary will stand the test of time.
I have come to this conclusion about myself: I am not a wanderer. I'm someone who loves to settle and set deep roots in some place. I love to find myself so tied to a place that I cannot imagine life without it. I have friends who are content to wander the world. Indeed, some of them may have never known what place they call home. I cannot say that. Yet I know that I'm certainly in an ideal place in life to be able to wander the world should I want to. I do not yet have the constraints of a family of my own. It gives me freedom to do a little wandering and find out who I am. So it boggles my mind that we evangelicals seem to emphasize settling young. Even for those like me that want to. We all need to wander a little. It's part of the process of maturing. I know that someday I'll want to settle, indeed, some days I already do. Like I said though, I'm not tied down. So I should take advantage of that while I still can. Don't know how long that will last after all. Though I think I got a few more years yet.
So deep within me are the stirrings for home and hearth, where my family is. Beyond that is the irresistible call of another year of school with friends. My last before I walk across the stage in May as a Master of Divinity (or Mastered by Divinity) and enter a new stage in life. Yet that is in the future and while it is a future I look forward to with great anticipation, I am here in Baldwin for three more weeks among a good little church. The challenge for me, for which I covet your prayers, is to remain faithful to the task at hand. That my mind stay in the present, not wandering to the future. For I have a duty to do, a good one at that. It'll be a busy three weeks. Should I stay in the present, it will be a rich and enjoyable three weeks. For now I am here. I have three weeks left. I want to be able say when I get in that car and head east across northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula and then south toward home, that I remained faithful to the task at hand and rendered good service here.
Well, that's about it for tonight. Tomorrow begins another week. It is a week to look forward to, for it is a gift. I hope that this post finds you well. May God bless you richly in this week ahead.
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