Monday, July 14, 2008
The Year of Jubilee
Every 10th year I have a birthday that brings melancholy and self-examination filled with doubts about what I have accomplished in this life so far. It happened when I turned 30. And again at 40. I know. How typically male.I was very clear with my wife that for my 50th I wanted to keep the moment very quiet. No parties. Surprise or otherwise. No big, highly publicized events to mark the birthday. I wanted to lay low and not think about this one.
But Jane loves me.
She put out an email to friends and family and informed the world and invited everyone to contact me. The phone was ringing off and on all day and for several afterwards. The email inbox was so full I had to create a special folder to put all the greetings aside so I wouldn't miss the normal stuff.
So much for ignoring the momentous day!
And it was wonderful. Very encouraging. I got to talk to folks I haven't had a chance to talk to for years. I got messages of love and encouragement from all quarters. Well, OK. Some of the messages did tease me rather mercilessly. But even that was great. And someone reminded me that in the law of Moses every 50th year was a special one. It was the year of Jubilee. All slaves were to be freed and debts canceled. It was a chance for a new start. In His love God whispered in my ear to remember His grace.
And to quit whining!
Thanks to all of you who made it a special day.
That birthday treat was, in fact, a wonderful climax to a month of reconnecting with family and friends. First and foremost, since we've been back we've had lots of time with Anna and Allison and their young men. They even joined us for a trip to Pennsylvania to see my parents and sister Laura and brother-in-law and kids. That weekend, the larger Hampton clan gathered down in the Harrisburg area and we got to see all my cousins (minus one) and many from the next generation and their kids, too. On top of that, my big sister Connie from California, Gretchen's mom, was on the East coast and was able to come up for a visit. What a blessing!
The next weekend, Jane's brothers and families gathered in Ft. Wayne at Steve's house and we had another family gathering. It was the 4th, so of course we had a bit of fireworks. Without loss of limb! And we competed at our old board game favorite, Acquire. Also, since Steve and Pam live on a small lake, we had some time fishing and swimming off of their pontoon boat. I even fielded a cell phone call from Senegal (about a misplaced network password!). There I was talking in French with a computer tech in Africa as I watched my brothers-in-law Jim and Steve casting into the water lilies along the bank of a lake in northeastern Indiana.
Bizarre.
She put out an email to friends and family and informed the world and invited everyone to contact me. The phone was ringing off and on all day and for several afterwards. The email inbox was so full I had to create a special folder to put all the greetings aside so I wouldn't miss the normal stuff.
So much for ignoring the momentous day!
And it was wonderful. Very encouraging. I got to talk to folks I haven't had a chance to talk to for years. I got messages of love and encouragement from all quarters. Well, OK. Some of the messages did tease me rather mercilessly. But even that was great. And someone reminded me that in the law of Moses every 50th year was a special one. It was the year of Jubilee. All slaves were to be freed and debts canceled. It was a chance for a new start. In His love God whispered in my ear to remember His grace.
And to quit whining!
Thanks to all of you who made it a special day.
That birthday treat was, in fact, a wonderful climax to a month of reconnecting with family and friends. First and foremost, since we've been back we've had lots of time with Anna and Allison and their young men. They even joined us for a trip to Pennsylvania to see my parents and sister Laura and brother-in-law and kids. That weekend, the larger Hampton clan gathered down in the Harrisburg area and we got to see all my cousins (minus one) and many from the next generation and their kids, too. On top of that, my big sister Connie from California, Gretchen's mom, was on the East coast and was able to come up for a visit. What a blessing!
The next weekend, Jane's brothers and families gathered in Ft. Wayne at Steve's house and we had another family gathering. It was the 4th, so of course we had a bit of fireworks. Without loss of limb! And we competed at our old board game favorite, Acquire. Also, since Steve and Pam live on a small lake, we had some time fishing and swimming off of their pontoon boat. I even fielded a cell phone call from Senegal (about a misplaced network password!). There I was talking in French with a computer tech in Africa as I watched my brothers-in-law Jim and Steve casting into the water lilies along the bank of a lake in northeastern Indiana.Bizarre.
And, of course, we've also had great time with the folks from our home church, Faith Community Church of Canton. It has been great to see all of our old friends, reconnecting with roots. We even got to participate in this summer's vacation Bible school back in June. I was a helper in the grade 3-5 group. Jane was with the 1st and 2nd graders. The kids raised money for the talibe ministry. And, as you can see, Jane distinguished herself by getting into the finals of the "crazy hats" competition!
This last weekend we were finally able to get time with Christine and her girls, Abbie and Gabbie. What a joy to see them! Christine lives just on the other side of the city, a short drive away, so we hope to get lots of time together. The girls have grown and are cute and smart and all that we could wish.There are certainly stresses and strains about this "furlough" year and worries about certain situations back in Dakar, but as I write this all down, I'm reminded of the how much these last 6 weeks of time with family and friends have refreshed me.
Thank you, Lord.
Comments:
<< Home
Hey, Tad, It is September. How are you? Where are you? What has happened?
Love you,
Connie
Post a Comment
Love you,
Connie
# posted by 
: 2:52 PM
: 2:52 PM << Home
