Tuesday Night

Today has been off-center for me most of the day. I think I'm just a little tired. I'm going to bed early tonight. But since so many of you check so faithfully, I thought I'd fill you in on my day a bit. I spent much of the day on the phone. I talked to Craig Hicks and got him lined up to speak at Central Sunday morning during class time, and at Orange Grove (Gulfport) Sunday night for the area wide youth meeting. I talked with Karen Potter, who is coming to work here on the Coast for the entire summer. I talked to Roger Mills, my dear friend and fellow preacher who is moving soon to Florence, Alabama. I talked to Danny Dodd, who is the best person to call when you just want to talk, because he is a redneck and I can identify with him. I talked to Paul Franks, who is always a lively conversationalist, even while he is sitting in his easy chair. (My easy chair is on order!) I probably talked to 40 other people, but can't remember. I didn't call Carla back. I did think about calling Chris, but never had time. And I can't remember if I talked to my mom today, but I try to do so daily. Cingular loves me. I tried to catch Gary K. on Skype tonight, but didn't see him. Hope his seminar went well. Maybe he'll update HIS BLOG soon. I had a coffee conclave with Daved Baker again today at Dough Joe's Coffee House. He is guiding me along in a little project that I will talk about here on the blog one day soon. We continued with a VBS type program - Spring Bible School tonight. I saw Rocky, youth minister from Cumming, Georgia who is here working hard with his group. I always regret not having time to spend with these wonderful youth leaders. When I walked out of the house this morning, I saw some of our crew down the street working. So I went down and timed everything perfectly so that I only had to offer to tote the last piece of sheetrock into the house. I got lots of credit and did little work. There's something to be said for that, when it comes to sheetrock. One of my neighbors told me he was depressed, but he didn't know it. His doctor told him. I know, some doctors are just out to create a problem ... but I think this is common. We're probably all depressed about what has happened to us, how long it's taking to get life back on track, how many people are not going to make it out of their FEMA campers alive, and the impending hurricane season. We all deal with our emotions in different ways. I stay busy. It's not really denial (I guess), I just talk a lot and help people all I can, and pray, and know that God is with me no matter what. I try to laugh a lot, and share laughter with others. Not everyone does so well, and we're reminded of that from time to time. Today I talked with a brother that I love who has a problem with alcohol. He's not from here and I haven't known him a long time, but he was stoned out of his mind. He served in Iraq and came home to find everything gone... house, possessions, girlfriend. He's had periods of sobriety, but this isn't one of them. I hugged him and I said, "Don't you ever forget, God is near." He looked at me with bloodshot tear-filled eyes and said, "But where? Where is He?" I said, "He's right here and He has never left you, never. And He never will. I believe it with all my heart, and you believe it too." Sometimes you just have to hear it from someone who really knows it to be true. We took him to the VA hospital and I hope they can get him some counseling along with medical treatment. How many people in our community are just like him, though ... sequestered behind their walls ... drinking their days away? How many are just like him on the inside, but on the outside are smiling and pretending to be OK? Most of us are between those extremes. We probably all need some counseling down here on the Coast. What do you think? Can someone be depressed and not even know it? Ok, just a cultural note here before I go to bed. Has anyone seen the trailer for the United Flight 93 movie? This was hard for me to watch. I think when I am old I will look back on my life and note that two of the existential shifts in my heart were brought about by tragedy: 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. Maybe there are more to come, I'm only 42! I noticed after 9-11 that I cried a lot more than I used to. I thought maybe I was just getting older and more sentimental. But I do not think so. I couldn't watch horror movies and the graphic news shows turned my stomach. After Hurricane Katrina, I feel that my life has been changed forever. I will detail some of those ways soon, as I work through them. But watching a graphic movie about Flight 93 ... I don't know. I think I will just end up weeping out of sadness for these people and their families, and feeling in awe of their heroism. What do you think? Is this movie a good idea or not? I look forward to God's suprises tomorrow!