Planning

Tonight and tomorrow night I will be participating in planning meetings at the church. We will be working with the new rector in seeking the Lord's plan and a method to achieve the plan for the future of the parish.  I am happy to be part of this process but it is interesting.

At the end of my final sermon, when Marsha and I left St. Thomas Church in Taunton, my wife had an offering as well. She asked me to play a song from the play "Wicked" sung by Sandi Patti called "For Good". It starts with a line about people coming into our lives for us to learn things we need to learn. I think Marsha was the greatest example of that in my life although others are in the list as well. Marsha was a planner, a list person, an organized individual who didn't particularly like surprises. I'm the opposite, moving at a whim or flowing with the Spirit, loving spontaneous life, change at a moments notice that's me. If we were leaving on a trip Marsha would have her clothes laid out in piles for weeks in advance and her list of what she needed to do, while I would throw things together at the last minute. We created a balance for one another once we stopped trying to change each other. It is so easy to think that our way of functioning is the only way to function or even the best way to function. Once we accepted that my style had it's value and Marsha's style had it's value, life worked better. Once we acknowledged that we needed the strengths of the other our life really improved. 

On my own today I need to recognize that one of my greatest assets is no longer available. What Marsha brought to me I need to take care of in a different way. I hope she was brought into my life so I could learn some things I need to do for myself now.

The picture is from our wedding 45 years ago. Boy did we change as life went on, and I think for good.