January Beginnings

It's 2013, and the "ugh" finally caught up with me.  I don't think it's the flu, because I've had the flu twice during the last 27 years and felt so much worse.  The first time I could barely stand, and the latter time I recall being as weak as kitten and sharing my remorse with an attendant at the Christmas wedding for which I was presiding.  He observed that he was headed straight home, missing the reception, as a new recipient of that year's bug.

Having said that, I still don't feel all that well and hope the quantity of fluid that is lurking around my head will soon vanish.  My voice is unreliably full of gravel, and a pastor without voice is like a fire fighter without a reliable hose.  Nonetheless, I am reminded of my own mortality, ever-present shortcomings, and I'm keenly aware that I need to make the most of every precious moment of life.  One of my Father's favorite songs before he died was, "I Hope You Dance."  Dad knew how to celebrate in ways that still evade me, and I'll have to take my cue from him...

Happy New Year one and all, and remember what one writer wrote:  You can give up all those New Year's resolutions for Lent - in just a few short weeks of growing daylight.