A shared dream

During our recent vacation, Pat dreamed one night that she had given me a large check to deposit, but that it hadn't been deposited.

The same night I dreamed that I was at the credit union trying to

deposit a check, but kept messing up the procedure.

Isn't that weird? It's like the plot of her dream jumped from her head

over to mine, and I continued the story.

That's spooky. But we were celebrating our 40th anniversary.

Perhaps our lives have become so enmeshed that our subconsciences overlap. It's not uncommon for both of us to say the same thing simultaneously, or to discover that we had been thinking about the same thing simultaneously.

Maybe there is some psychic net that connects us all, but is only turned on when people get psychically intimate.

In this world there are levels of sharing. The relationship of marriage must be the deepest level of what the New Testament calls koinonia (fellowship, partnership, sharing).

Last Sunday the preacher gave the Trinitarian benediction from the last verse of 2 Cor. 13, but instead of ending with "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit," she said, "the radical bonding of the Holy Spirit."

Martin Luther King, Jr. said he had a dream. God has a dream too. Perhaps the closer we get to God, the more we can share in God's dream for the world.

(I took the photo at Lake Susan, at the Presbyterian Conference Center in Montreat, NC)

40 years!

Pat and I are back from several days in the mountains of Ashville, NC. to celebrate
our 40th wedding anniversary.
Forty Years is a significant number in the Bible.
The Jews were in the wilderness 40 years as they traveled toward
the Promised Land.
Marriage is a journey.
In fact, we don't 'get married,' we 'become married.'
It takes time to really get wed together.
The two shall become one, the Bible says.
But not on the day of the wedding.
The oneness of marriage
comes only after years of testing and growth.


Pat and I are fortunate.
A long and healthy marriage takes both work and luck.
In so many ways we are different; we hardly have any
hobbies or interests in common.
But we have found ways to support each other's interests,
and to allow each other the space to pursue
our own thing.
At the same time we have tried to cultivate
some common activities and pursuits.


It's all about give-and-take.
Compromise contains promise.
As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13, "Love seeks not its own."
Another translation puts it: "Love does not insist on its own way."
The acceptance of the other as different,
and the acceptance of their uniqueness
is part of the process of a successful relationship.


We drove up the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway
and had a picnic at 5000 feet,
keeping a lookout for bears.
But what we noticed more than anything
was the silence.
Almost complete quietness.
We took it in.


But you can't remain above it all for long.
We have to come back down to the nitty gritty
and keep working amidst the noise of ego and desire.


The next forty years promises even more intimacy,
weddedness, and delight.

(photo taken at Montreat Conference Center)

blue flower

At the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham.

archi-presby-movie

We met with architects again on Friday. Made some changes. Things are moving along.

The Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley examined me on Thursday. Only one 'no' vote; so, I'm transferred into this presbytery.

I watched the movie "The Road" last night (based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy). Very dark and intense. But I recommend it for its message.

gregorian sighs

FAT CHANTS

narrow notes
will never do--
sing full rounded ones
full-throated prayers
without airs
rise to vaulted skies
anorexic choirs
never acquire
plump praise
but acquiesce to
thin-skinned sinful singing
the cardinal feels lucky
chirps church
all sunday long
until the fat lady sings

recent progress

Recent progress:

...We met with the architects and reviewed floor plans for our cottage. We were pleased with their concept of differing ceiling heights throughout the house, and a brick tower that encloses a reading nook.

...I met with the presbytery's Committee on Ministry this week. They examined me and will recommend to the presbytery that my membership be transferred to this presbytery. The presbytery meets next week, and anyone can ask me questions from the floor before they vote.

**