Happy
02/11/24 01:51
I’ve been pondering yesterday’s journal entry since I posted it. I think I was a bit over dramatic. My life is not really an emotional roller coaster. At least it isn’t a series of wild emotional swings. Yes, I have grave concerns about the world. Yes, I grieve over injustices and the death of innocents. But I don’t really go around most of the time filled with deep sadness. I could have written an entire journal entry and more about things in this world that make me very happy.
So that is my plan for today’s entry.
Somehow, through God’s grace, I was able to marry my best friend the week after I turned 20. I know a lot of people who are intelligent and loving who have had to go through a lot more living and experiencing before finding their life’s partner. Some people never do find the right relationship. We’ve not only been married for more than 51 years, but we have been happy through it all. We worked for the same employer for 44 years. For 19 of those years we shared the same office. She is the best colleague I can imagine. We enjoyed raising children together and we enjoy being grandparents together. I cannot overstate the amount of joy that has come to me from that relationship. It brings a smile to my face to see her walk down the stairs or come into the house from outside. We never run out of things to talk about, and yet we have enjoyed deep moments of sharing silence together. It is one of the joys that could all by itself fill a lot of journal entries.
We have two children. They are each unique and wonderful. They are not the same. But they really like each other. As adults they keep in touch and collaborate on many fronts. Although they live on different sides of the country and have lived on different continents at times, they have used technology to remain in touch with each other. When they are together they truly enjoy their time. If there was a need to which I was not able to respond, I know that they would be there for each other. Each of them has given me joy at every stage of their lives. And the joy of knowing that they are friends is deeper than I can express.
I have always enjoyed walking. There have been some monumental hikes in my story. Since 2019, we have been disciplines about taking a walk every day. We’ve walked int he rain, in driving snowstorms, on hot and dry days, and on days with beautiful weather. We’ve walked around the neighborhood and we’ve walked around towns and cities that we are visiting for the first time. We’ve walked through the mountains and down the beach. I can’t describe the feeling, but there is a deep joy in just being able to walk. It makes me feel good to experience my muscles and my balance working together. I’ve had a couple of injuries over the years that have temporarily made walking a challenge. An Achilles injury once made it painful to walk, but with physical therapy I recovered and one day I realized I was walking without pain. These days as the years have passed I can get stiff from sitting too long. I have to stretch out after driving the car for a distance. Walking makes me feel better. Putting one foot ahead of the other is one of the great joys of life.
We have been well treated by the churches we have worked for and we have enough financial security in our retirement that we can go to the grocery store and buy whatever we need. We have a well-stocked pantry and a freezer that mean that we are able to stay home and make dinner without a trip to the store. We can go many days on the supplies we have on hand. Cooking gives me a great deal of pleasure and having all of the ingredients I need is a joy. There have been a few situations in my life where I was uncertain about a particular meal, but for the most part I have not had to wonder where my next meal was coming from. Good nutrition is a joy beyond words.
Before we had children, I commented to my wife that I thought that I would enjoy being a grandfather some day. I was right. There is so much delight in each of our grandchildren that I feel like a rich person all the time. Who could ask for anything more? And since we have retired I have been able to move close to four of our five grandchildren. The youngest of our grandchildren I have been able to see multiple times nearly every week of his life. The grandson who lives across the country from us is available by FaceTime and Skype whenever I want to check in with him. When we are able to be together in person we can pick up right where we left off. And our children have been incredibly generous with giving us time with our grandchildren. We have the right safety seats in our car to be able to give them rides whenever we are needed. We know our way around their schools and we know their teachers. I really do enjoy being a grandpa and hearing a young voice call me Papa melts my heart every time.
I have been blessed with friendships that have endured over time. I have lifelong friends from each stage of my life’s journey. I have colleagues from seminary with whom I feel close even though we have lived and served on different continents. I have friends from every congregation that we have served. There are a lot of people with whom I can let down my hair. I’m nearly bald, so it isn’t a dramatic event, but there is deep joy in being comfortable with friends.
What is more, I have a list of things that make me happy that could fill dozens of journal entries. Just thinking about those things makes me happy.
So that is my plan for today’s entry.
Somehow, through God’s grace, I was able to marry my best friend the week after I turned 20. I know a lot of people who are intelligent and loving who have had to go through a lot more living and experiencing before finding their life’s partner. Some people never do find the right relationship. We’ve not only been married for more than 51 years, but we have been happy through it all. We worked for the same employer for 44 years. For 19 of those years we shared the same office. She is the best colleague I can imagine. We enjoyed raising children together and we enjoy being grandparents together. I cannot overstate the amount of joy that has come to me from that relationship. It brings a smile to my face to see her walk down the stairs or come into the house from outside. We never run out of things to talk about, and yet we have enjoyed deep moments of sharing silence together. It is one of the joys that could all by itself fill a lot of journal entries.
We have two children. They are each unique and wonderful. They are not the same. But they really like each other. As adults they keep in touch and collaborate on many fronts. Although they live on different sides of the country and have lived on different continents at times, they have used technology to remain in touch with each other. When they are together they truly enjoy their time. If there was a need to which I was not able to respond, I know that they would be there for each other. Each of them has given me joy at every stage of their lives. And the joy of knowing that they are friends is deeper than I can express.
I have always enjoyed walking. There have been some monumental hikes in my story. Since 2019, we have been disciplines about taking a walk every day. We’ve walked int he rain, in driving snowstorms, on hot and dry days, and on days with beautiful weather. We’ve walked around the neighborhood and we’ve walked around towns and cities that we are visiting for the first time. We’ve walked through the mountains and down the beach. I can’t describe the feeling, but there is a deep joy in just being able to walk. It makes me feel good to experience my muscles and my balance working together. I’ve had a couple of injuries over the years that have temporarily made walking a challenge. An Achilles injury once made it painful to walk, but with physical therapy I recovered and one day I realized I was walking without pain. These days as the years have passed I can get stiff from sitting too long. I have to stretch out after driving the car for a distance. Walking makes me feel better. Putting one foot ahead of the other is one of the great joys of life.
We have been well treated by the churches we have worked for and we have enough financial security in our retirement that we can go to the grocery store and buy whatever we need. We have a well-stocked pantry and a freezer that mean that we are able to stay home and make dinner without a trip to the store. We can go many days on the supplies we have on hand. Cooking gives me a great deal of pleasure and having all of the ingredients I need is a joy. There have been a few situations in my life where I was uncertain about a particular meal, but for the most part I have not had to wonder where my next meal was coming from. Good nutrition is a joy beyond words.
Before we had children, I commented to my wife that I thought that I would enjoy being a grandfather some day. I was right. There is so much delight in each of our grandchildren that I feel like a rich person all the time. Who could ask for anything more? And since we have retired I have been able to move close to four of our five grandchildren. The youngest of our grandchildren I have been able to see multiple times nearly every week of his life. The grandson who lives across the country from us is available by FaceTime and Skype whenever I want to check in with him. When we are able to be together in person we can pick up right where we left off. And our children have been incredibly generous with giving us time with our grandchildren. We have the right safety seats in our car to be able to give them rides whenever we are needed. We know our way around their schools and we know their teachers. I really do enjoy being a grandpa and hearing a young voice call me Papa melts my heart every time.
I have been blessed with friendships that have endured over time. I have lifelong friends from each stage of my life’s journey. I have colleagues from seminary with whom I feel close even though we have lived and served on different continents. I have friends from every congregation that we have served. There are a lot of people with whom I can let down my hair. I’m nearly bald, so it isn’t a dramatic event, but there is deep joy in being comfortable with friends.
What is more, I have a list of things that make me happy that could fill dozens of journal entries. Just thinking about those things makes me happy.
