I had the opportunity yesterday to join my two sons for a round of golf. We went out to the Idaho Club north of town to try out the new course. For Dieter it was a return home to the course that he played in high school, only it was totally redone, a Jack Nicklaus designed course now, and far more challenging. Back when it was the Hidden Lakes golf course Dieter had recorded two hole in one's.
A quick anecdote about that. Dieter used to show up at the golf course and just get paired up with whoever the club house could pair him up with. Golfing with one gentleman one day, Dieter took a 'gimme', to which the gentleman objected. Irritated, and with the attitude 'game on then', Dieter proceeded on the next hole to hit a hole in one. No gimme needed. On the eighteenth hole, a par five, Dieter again holed out, this time on his approach from over a hundred yards. When they got back to the club house the gentleman's response was "Who the hell is this kid you paired me up with?" For the next few weeks the golf pro would introduce Dieter at the first tee as "Tiger Woods".
Well, for Jens and I it's a different story. Yesterday, Dieter was in rare form, driving the ball over three hundred yards consistently, and in the fairway. Jens and I surpassed Dieter only in terms of the opportunity we had to experience a variety of scenic locations. The course Nicholas designed is challenging, with very tight fairways and lots of water. Not to mention that the lake was at flood stage adding even more water. The balls we lost probably cost as much as the round itself, or so it seemed. And yet each of us had a few good shots, a few good holes, and a lot of fun.
Rare and wonderful pleasures.
Our oldest, Katie, is finishing up her school year as an elementary music teacher. A musical, concerts, and the day to day antics of her kids. She shared on Facebook a few weeks back:
"When you have been working at building something for years,
it is exciting when it suddenly catches on and takes on a life of its own.
Thinking about that with our musical and how it has become a
part of the school culture all the things that my staff and parents and the
community just jump in and do to make it a great experience for the kids.
(Today I totally spaced the Safeway run I was supposed to make for our cast
party, with a donation from Safeway, that another staff member requested for
the kids, asked the parents to help and within 3 minutes had 4 families willing
to take time out of their day to do it.)
AND WHOA how is Vivace Camp taking off!!! I have been
getting new ones registered every day. With one more registration we'll top
last years numbers, and if you add in the campers whose parents say they'll be
there but haven't turned in paperwork... we only have 10 spots left?!? Crazy!"
To witness the joy of my daughter's vocational accomplishments is a rare and wonderful pleasure.
And Dieter is here with his new bride, Dayna. It's an interesting experience welcoming new members into our family. It's like childbirth all over again, yet without the morning sickness, the agony of labor, the sleepless nights and the dirty diapers. A new daughter who is well on the way to being a 'finished product'. Dayna and Dieter found gems in each other. We couldn't be happier for them.
Rare and wonderful pleasures.
This weekend we had the pleasure of being with Jens and Kersten Friday evening when they got the news that their offer on a new house was approved. Another milestone in their building a life together as a family, centered around our first grandson, Jasper. Excitement. Ker's work as a nurse is going well and Jens has begun a new adventure working to buy Sandpoint Computers.
To be able to share these experiences on a day to day basis, especially watching Jasper grow before our eyes, is a rare and wonderful pleasure.
And then there is Brita. She just returned from another adventure, this time biking the North Shore of Lake Superior with a friend. For the record, Minnesota readers, Brita related that for as much as people rave about the North Shore, in her opinion its nothing compared to the lakes and mountains of the Rocky Mountain west. She loves where she lives and works, and is mindful that many people work for a lifetime to be able to retire here, and this is her home.
One of the delights to me about this is that after moving quite a bit early on in my seminary and ministry days, I came to Sandpoint with the hope to set down roots in this community so that my two youngest children might have the experience I never had, which is to have a place called "home". Jens and Brita are not sojourners in this place.
It is a rare and wonderful pleasure.
And Karla and I get to take it all in. Karla will accompany the kids on a bike ride down the Hiawatha trail in the Silver Valley later today. Me, I get to preach again about the inclusive love of God that know no borders or barriers. Above all we have the precious experience of seeing Jasper's face light up whenever we see him.
Rare and wonderful pleasures.
I realize that this all sounds a bit like a Christmas newsletter and may carry a tone of bragging. For me it is simply a matter of being overwhelmed with gratitude for the life that is unfolding before our very eyes. What a rare and wonderful pleasure it is to step back and realize that you have everything you could have ever wanted. Oh, there is more to come, I'm sure. Additional new members of our family. Challenges to be overcome, and accomplishments to celebrate.
Often I have written in this column about the difficulties of negotiating through life as a bipolar person. There are challenges.
But life is good. I am not defined by my disease.
I have many times thought that if my life is to be judged, I would most like to be judged on the basis of the children Karla and I have raised. They are, I believe, our greatest accomplishment. Having said that I feel a need to acknowledge that God is their creator, not Karla or I, so it is not right to take too much credit. But what the heck, you get the point.
What too often gets lost amid all the wrestling with a disease such as bipolar disorder is the abundance of priceless blessings that are there to be enjoyed.
Wow! Just wow! Rare and wonderful pleasures.
No comments:
Post a Comment