Recent happenings

I know I don't get around here often, but a lot has been happening the past few weeks. The wife entered the hospital on July 1 for back surgery....fusing of two vertebrae, cleaning out of arthritis and scar tissue.... we've actually been through these before, and we thought four days in the hospital and she would be home....sounds simple enough, but it did not work out that way. A few hours after the four-hour procedure it was discovered she had no feeling from the waist down. The surgeon made the call that it was a blood clot and he was going back in. That's right...two back surgeries in a 12-hour period. I knew this would not be good, considering my wife's pre-existing health problems. Well, the surgeon was correct...it was a blood clot, and he cleaned it out. Whew! We dodged a bullet....but the "fun" wasn't over yet. What might be expected in such situations occurred next. They were unable to maintain her oxygen level without placing her on a respirator which included her being sedated. And in that state she remained for almost two weeks. During that time acute, double pneumonia set in and those were dark days indeed. Looking back now I feel I can say it out loud....we almost lost her. I guess I will never know just how close. Without giving a blow-by-blow account and a lot of boring details, she did pull through and is now back home. She is getting around in a wheel chair and "normal" sensation is SLOWLY returning to her legs and feet. The doc says it could take 6 months to a year before things return to "normal" for her, but I have heard no promises of COMPLETE recovery. I am just grateful to God that she is alive at all. This experience has been eye-opening for all of us and I hope she can take something from this and learn from it. God has kept her on this earth for a reason...it was not her time.

Wondering

So many different circumstances come into our lives every day. As my wife lies in a hospital on a respirator, I wonder, "what is next?" I know it is all in God's hands and He will see us through.....whatever the future may bring.

On the road again?

I have been seriously considering pulling up stakes and relocating. I live in a great part of the world, but I constantly feel the call of the coast. I know I will never "retire" to a beach home, but the next, best thing would be get a job there. I am not getting any younger, so I need to act soon if it's gonna happen. I lived in a coastal area once, over twenty years ago, but that was in Virginia, and I was not totally happy with the situation. I am just a pilgrim passing through this world and do not need to own a house. That would probably be an impossibility anyway, considering I want to move to the Wilmington, NC area. A lot of things would have to come together for this to become reality.

First, I wanted to have other family in the area and not be "alone" considering my age. That hurdle has been crossed as my daughter-in-law is taking a new job at one of the hospitals in Wilmington. So, my son and his family will be moving there later this year.

Second, my wife would have to be willing to make the move.....she says she has no problem with it, as long as she does not have to do the packing. We'll see what we can do about that if the process ever gets that far. If everything else fell into place, I do not think this would be a problem.

Third, I need to find a buyer for my house and it really needs to be someone in the family. I live on "family land" (many of you know what this term means), and that's where this land needs to stay....in the family. This could probably be the toughest bridge to cross.

Fourth, I must find a job! My two careers have basically been auto parts retail/wholesale and radio broadcasting (strange combination, huh?). The economy is not good right now and may never recover. The times in which we live may dictate I stay put and live out my days right where I am....who knows?

I believe there will be no problem finding a good church in the area and that is of utmost importance to me.

This could all be a doddering old man's dream, but stranger things have happened in my life that I never thought would happen. Time will tell.

The Unitarian Universalist Church

I attended the wedding of one my nieces this weekend in Richmond, VA. It was held in a unitarian universalist church, which come to find out, is a very interesting entity indeed. If you knew nothing of this church, one could guess just from the name as I did that they believe all people go to heaven....that is, as they would say, if there is such a thing as heaven. The Unitarian Universalist church has no creed...no belief system whatsoever. They apparently want to be everything to everybody. It is, in practice, a humanist organization. There was no mention of God or a "god" one time during the ceremony I witnessed this weekend. They are very much involved in social issues such as homosexual marriage, civil rights, etc. I don't understand why they even bother to call it a "church". Why don't they call it the "Everybody Do What Is Right In Your Own Eyes Club"? 18% of UU's consider themselves atheists! Give me a break! They definitely are not Christian, nor do they claim to be, apparently. I believe the UU church serves the purpose of being a place to go for people who like to "play church" or whose guilty conscience requires them to be somewhere other than in the bed or on the golf course on Sunday mornings. For those of you who have turned your backs on God and the Christian faith, if you start feeling guilty about staying home on Sunday mornings and "enjoying" that second cup of coffee, check out the Unitarian Universalists....you might find that for which you seek!

Musings

Nothing specific to share today....just felt it was time to check in again.

Friendships, relationships, anything dealing with other people are so complex and hard to understand for me. I hesitate to share some things because it will mean nothing to most people. So, forgive me as I indulge in "thinking out loud". I had this very dear friend who apparently decided it was time to leave me behind as a regular participant in their life.

[Just found this draft begun over two months ago.....]

So, continuing where I left off......

In the big picture of life it is best that this person has moved on. It would be good, though, to hear from them once in a while, just to know they are ok.

It has been nice having an email "pen pal" lately. A friend with whom I formerly performed music has stayed in touch over the past couple of months and it is good to have someone with whom you can regularly correspond.

I have very much enjoyed playing bass in the band lately....it is very fulfilling. I have stepped up more recently in a harmony, back-up vocals role and this is great also.


***This post was actually updated on June 28, 2009***

One reason why I am Presbyterian

Found and interesting article which states the situation well:

http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-church/pca-churches-where-the-un-churched-might-see-a-difference.

New Atheist's Holy Day

A Florida judge ruled recently in the case of an atheist challenging the religious holidays of Easter and Passover, complaining that atheists were being discriminated against because they had no such recognized days.
The judge told the atheist's lawyer, "But you do...... your client, counselor, is woefully ignorant".
The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."
The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fool's Day. Psalm 41 says 'The fool says in his heart there is no God'. Thus it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."