From The Storyteller
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Dec. 17, 2018, Line
The guys at the next table are having a Jesus talk and praying. They’re college students because their conversation includes talk of final exams. On my other side two law students are talking about their upcoming final in Civil Procedure, without the Jesus talk. The coffee is hot, weather cold, ice on the street, and the coffee shop is filled with young people focused on preparing for their future. The phrase “When I grow up ...” comes to mind and causes me to smile. When I spoke those words, I thought of life as a straight line. First I would do this, and then that, and next thus and so, and so on. It didn’t work that way for me. All the dots of my life are connected, but the lines look more like ones you would find in a connect the dots coloring book. Just a few of my dots include marriage, college, Air Force, Kansas, law school, St Louis, Texas, throw in children, divorce, seminary, church pastor, and a heart attack, and you have a brief idea how wrong I was about my life flowing in a straight line. I am smiling because I’m hearing these wonderful young folks sharing hopes and dreams that to them look very much like a straight line. Seven plus decades have taught me life happens with or without our consent, and the line definitely is not straight. With the right attitude, I find life can be experienced as a great adventure, presenting us with opportunities for everything from love and family, to a world filled with interesting people. Where life will take these four young men is anybody’s guess, but one thing is assured – it won’t be a straight line. Moral: Even when you are walking in the light, you can’t see around the corner. |