WORDS FROM THE WILDERNESS

NOT QUITE WALDEN POND

(and definitely, no Ralph Waldo Emerson)

        I am in my second week of being in the Poconos on a kind personal R&R. I’m here all during the week by myself, but joyfully, Chris comes up on the weekends, and today I am expecting company (my sister and brother-in-law). I’ll be here for most of next week, but I’m due back in the pulpit on the 24^th. I should say that I am not in the region of the Poconos, nor do I desire to be, that advertises heart-shaped tubs—a concept that I’ve never understood in that no matter what the shape, it’s still water that fills it, and in addition, is it really necessary to remind oneself that you are in love by bobbing up and down in a larger-than-life semblance of the same—if that’s your motivation?

        I’m temporarily living at a cottage on a wonderful lake—I like to think similarly to the experience of Ralph Waldo Emerson on Walden Pond, without, of course, the wisdom or literary genius of his likes. My time has really been a gift because in a matter of months, my life will change dramatically. I’ve been a church professional/minister for over 40 years. I began my career as a Director of Christian Education, aka youth pastor in Cherry Hill, NJ back in 1974. It’s been a good life for me; I’ve met some wonderful people along the way; I’ve served some great churches; and I feel like it was what I was meant to do with my life.

        I’m spending my time, if  you’re at all interested, doing some hiking, sitting by the lake, playing my guitar, writing, thinking, praying, and planning (I use the word planning loosely). Of course, there’s also the joy of going out for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, although not on the same day. I am located 5 miles above Milford, PA—a lovely town with a bit of a touristy flavor, but not overdone.

        This is the first blog entry I’ve done in quite a while, though I’ve tried many times to write in the last several months, but I was unable to come up with something worth saying. The problem has been that there are many disturbing things happening politically and otherwise in our world, that the nature of my blog did not seem relevant. You see, my style is somewhat more whimsical than pertinent, and I have realized that the more powerful voices have been the ones to pay attention to.

        However, and I do mean however, an even greater truth remains: As we observe the scenario of the world around us with its many troubling dynamics at present, how we react to them and interpret them depends on the kind of personal attention we give our spiritual selves. I’ve recently come up with a saying which I don’t know whether it’s totally mine or if I read it somewhere: “Don’t sell your soul to your problems.” I know that sounds rather trite, and yet I think that it’s so easy for us to spend a large amount of our time on this plane of existence in a state of emotional upheaval or depression or a state of being lost and confused.

        Maybe it’s because I have this time alone to think and reflect and to be apart from my usual life setting, which I dearly love, by the way, that it seems so important to me that we not lose sight of the fact that while we are all here to serve some purpose within the human family, that purpose is best served when we ourselves feel the strength, joy, and power of hope. May God grant us the awareness to see the deeper truths!

Just a final word:  “Don’t sell your soul to your problems.”