Oh yes….the cooler the better! Though I love the warm weather, nights like these make it very clear that I am a Northerner at heart! I do not mind the cold, and there is no better feeling at all to me than to be out on an ice rink gliding around with the cool wind in my face. I am certain this blog is going to lead me to the rink either this Friday or Saturday too.
I suppose we all have things that bring us great joy. For me, among other things, it’s my faith, my family, our dogs, my wonderful gray and white domestic mountain lion (she is diluted…she’s really just a little cat) and of course my love of ice skating. It’s 55 right now on the back porch with a little wind, and as it hit me, skating was the first thing that came to my mind.
When I skate I feel free and very close to God. The aches and pains of my body and the stiffness that always plagues me all seem to disappear, and I just glide across the ice. Of course being a middle-aged man helps. I still skate better than I walk, but the fact that there are not five guys with sticks looking to knock me down anymore makes it a lot smoother, and more of a pleasurable skate! Don’t get me wrong, I miss the contact and competitiveness of my youth, but as I skate, I now seem to remember only the victories, and the good times! And as I glide across the ice, my mind goes to the things I am blessed with in this life! There is a real sense of peace and joy. It is something I wish everyone had, yet I must confess, it is something I do not take time for enough anymore. I do however, intend to change that by the weekend!
I may have lost a bit of my mind post-stroke, but as I am dealing with it what I have discovered is that God is deepening other parts of me. I seem to struggle with complex thought, and particularly numbers, and even short-term memory, but I now notice much more depth in the world around me. My patience is a lot shorter, yet things seem to have more meaning. And yes, I know you are worried, but my sense of humor took no hits at all, because I am truly convinced I am six inches taller and ten years younger than I was in March….yep, 6’3″ and 28!
Where I come from there is an expression, “you play the hand you are dealt.” Really you can do no more. I do not have a hand of two’s and three’s though……my hand is pretty good. And I need not bluff my way through life because I know I am truly blessed.
I have met a lot of clergy in my time who I have thought were totally delusional, and I suppose some may think that about me. But I can walk and talk, I have a great faith, a great family, and good friends (we cannot all be great). I get confused, but can still do more than most. And for a stroke patient, I am living the rock star life. I KNOW I am blessed, and I intend to make the most of it.
I will continue to make the most of each day, playing that hand the best that I can, and I hope you do the same. We are all given a lot of opportunities every day, and all of them are gifts from God. I encourage you to join me, and lets make the best of all of them! Life is to short to do anything less. And God’s hope for us all is that we would live each day to its fullest!
Goodnight my friends and God bless! Come join me this weekend at Church AND at the rink!
Fr. Tom+