Everybody needs a little recovery sometimes so on Friday I am going into treatment, treatment in the form of a vacation. I will be heading to Gettysburg for what is billed as a "Continuing Education" event. Along the way I will stop by Luther Seminary (the seminary where the Lutherans who can't get into any other seminary go) for lunch with my good friends Alvin L and Rick F. The hour or two of laughing will go a long way to renewing my brain and heart for this job God has called me to.
Along the way, and the way home, I will stop in Ohio to visit my mom and my daughter, Cathy. In Gettysburg I will pretend to pay attention to the presenter at the lecture, reconnect with classmates (10 year class reunion) laugh some more and take a drive or two around the battlefield. Next Tuesday we will take a "Pilgrimage of Remembrance" up to Pottsville, PA and visit the Yuengling Brewery, "Americas Oldest Brewery." Rumor has it that they have had to cut back on production since the graduation of the 2000 class from LTSG but I think that is just a rumor.
This will be Sandy's and my first separate vacation. She will be heading to Memphis later in the month (after preaching at Recovery next week) to visit her Mom & Dad, Greg, Halley, Neely, Ella and the new grand-daughter, Avery. Seems she would rather do that than sit around with a bunch of pastors, can't imagine why.
I will return in two weeks, refreshed and ready to face the summer. When I return I will be starting a sermon series on the Twelve-Steps. I have not done this since my first summer at Recovery Worship; it will be interesting to see how I have changed my approach to recovery since that first summer.
In the past when I have left on vacation I could not get out of town fast enough, this time I leave with hesitation. Not that I am not looking forward to vacation, I am, and not that I don't need a break, I do. I will miss Sunday morning at Recovery Worship. I will miss the laughter, the hugs and the hand shakes. I will miss Sunny's smile and the kids crawling around on the floor during worship. I will also miss Stephanie's and Susan's chatting during my sermon.
I will also miss the adult baptisms! Three in the last three weeks, as I said in church on Sunday, I am starting to feel like a Baptist!
See you all when I get home.
