Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Today is PREPARATION DAY. I am at my mother-in-laws with my wife and my daughter. You’d think we were inviting all of the neighborhood for dinner tomorrow with all the preparations being made. That is part of the holiday experience. I have seen my brother’s little boy- Nevan. He is two years old and this is the first time I’ve been in the Kansas City area to see him. My sister is scheduled to begin her chemotherapy treatments on the day after Thanksgiving- after two false starts.
Trying to get some ‘quiet time’ to work on Sunday and preparation for next week has been a little difficult. But, again, that is part of the family experience.
A couple of observations:
When I am away from my job I struggle with anxiety issues. My identity is so tied to my job that I wonder sometimes how I will stand four weeks away from my job for my sabbatical. Perhaps one of the issues I can work on during that time is renewing my identity in Christ seperate from my identity as a pastor and member of the community.
Family is a complex and complicated group of individuals. The dynamics of family systems continues to baffle and bewilder me. I’ve said before, every family is dysfunctional in it’s own way. And as someone else has observed, Normal is only a setting on your dryer! The word normal really doesn’t describe any family I’ve ever met- and it certainly doesn’t sedcribe my family of origin or even the family my wife and I have created. I would guess I will be learning the rest of my life to communicate with my family!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
WINSTON COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH 